Jim Mashek

MTSU’s BOURGEOIS DELIVERS 48-YARD FIELD GOAL BEFORE BLUE RAIDERS RECOVER FUMBLE IN THE END ZONE AS TIME EXPIRES

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee — Western Kentucky’s football team rallied from a two-touchdown deficit in the final quarter, and it looked as though the Hilltoppers would get an overtime to tangle with traditional rival Middle Tennessee State on a chilly Saturday evening at Johnny Floyd Stadium

MTSU’s Dominic Bourgeois had other ideas.

MTSU quarterback Roman Gagliano got his team into field-goal range in the final 30 seconds of regulation, and Bourgeois drilled a 48 -yard field goal in the final seconds that put the Blue Raiders in front, 45-42. There was still a second remaining on the scoreboard clock, however, and Western Kentucky fielded the kick before trying the “Stanford Band” play to pull out a miracle.

The Hilltoppers’ prayers were not answered.

Retreating on the kickoff as the Blue Raiders’ kick coverage team closed in, the Hilltoppers fumbled the ball into their own end zone, before MTSU’s Aidan Singleton came up with the ball in a pile of humanity. That allowed the Blue Raiders to claim a wild 51-42 victory over their traditional rival in the “100 Miles of Hate” series, while snapping the Hilltoppers’ seven-game winning streak in the series.

MTSU improved to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in Conference USA while the Hilltoppers dropped to 3-6 and 2-3 respectively.

The Blue Raiders never trailed and kept Western Kentucky at arm’s length for most of the game. WKU quarterback Brock Glenn was injured with 5:40 left in the third quarter. Redshirt sophomore Rodney Tisdale, Jr., who split time at quarterback with Maverick McIvor last season, stepped in and got the Hilltoppers in position to pull out an against-all-odds victory.

Tisdale, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound sophomore from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, found Quincy Burroughs for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 5:19 left in the game. WKU coach Tyson Helton went for the two-point conversion at that point, and Tisdale got the ball to redshirt junior tight end Lofton Howard for the score to pull the Tops to within 42-35.

WKU’s defense got the ball back to Tisdale and Co. in the game’s final two minutes. Tisdale used a moving pocket to complete some short passes before he scored himself on a 5-yard touchdown run with 31 seconds left in the game. Helton opted for the PAT to tie the game and force a possible overtime, and freshman kicker Kyle Campbell delivered his sixth extra point of the game.

That’s when the Blue Raiders used a frenetic pace themselves to get in position for Bourgeois’ game-winning kick. A defensive holding call against the Hilltoppers allowed MTSU to stop the clock before Bourgeois’ 47-yard field goal split the uprights, bringing the Blue Raiders’ players onto the field in celebration.

Officials working the game determined a single second remained, however, and the Hilltoppers fumbled the ball after a series of laterals and MTSU’s Aidan Singleton came up with the football in the end zone.

It was a tough loss for Tyson Helton, the Hilltoppers’ eighth-year head coach, and his team to endure.

“The guys battled. Everybody put it on the line,” Helton said in the tunnel outside the WKU locker room. “We couldn’t come up with the stop in those last few seconds …”

MTSU quarterback Roman Gagliano completed 30 of 41 passes for 312 yards and four touchdowns, and the Blue Raiders amassed 513 yards in total offense. WKU’s Ajay Allen carried the ball 15 times for 116 yards and a third-quarter touchdown.

Helton and Tisdale said WKU quarterback Brock Glenn got “poked in the eye” in the third quarter, bringing Tisdale off the WKU bench.

“We’ve just got to keep our head up, and get back to the drawing board,” Tisdale said. “Brock got poked in the eye and I always prepare myself to be ready to play.”

The Hilltoppers return to Houchens-Smith Stadium for next Saturday’s homecoming game against Jacksonville State (6-2, 4-0 in Conference USA). Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CST.

I’ll have complete coverage on the Hilltoppers’ heartbreaker tomorrow morning at jimmashek.com. Thanks for reading.