Middle Tennessee's defense earned praise, though their offense struggled throughout the season, and they were without quarterback Chase Cunningham after his injury in late October 2021.
The game began with an edge towards defense, as Nick Vattiato's six-yard touchdown pass to Yusuf Ali for Middle Tennessee was the only score of the first quarter.
[8] After starting their season with a win over Monmouth,[9] Middle Tennessee (MTSU) suffered three straight road losses against Virginia Tech,[10] UTSA,[11] and Charlotte,[12] dropping their overall record to 1–3.
[14] After a bye week, MTSU earned their first road victory of the season against UConn[15] and then returned home to defeat Southern Miss on homecoming,[16] which bumped their winning percentage back up to .500.
[34] Middle Tennessee received more mixed reviews; with quarterback Chase Cunningham out with an injury since October,[35] the Blue Raiders' offense was expected to face a challenge.
Toledo had a chance at the game's first points on their next drive, as they drove from their own 27-yard-line to the Middle Tennessee 17-yard-line, though Thomas Cluckey missed a 35-yard field goal attempt, giving the Blue Raiders the ball back.
With just over a minute remaining in the half, Middle Tennessee was able to get into field goal range with seconds to spare, but Zeke Rankin's 37-yard attempt as time expired was no good, giving Toledo a 17–14 halftime lead.
A pair of incomplete passes and a rush for no gain, coupled with a false start penalty, doomed the Toledo drive, and they punted the ball back just a few plays after receiving it.
Toledo, after a 23-yard rush achieved a first down on their initial play, failed to gain any further yards, and punted the ball away, which was fair caught at the Middle Tennessee 20-yard-line.
Middle Tennessee had a lengthier drive but did not gain that many more yards, as they drove to the Toledo 48-yard-line but had to punt on 4th & 9; another coffin corner from Ulbrich gave the Rockets the ball back at their own 5-yard-line.
Toledo was unable to make much of their ensuing drive, despite gaining a first down; they opted to punt on 4th & 2 at their own 27-yard-line and gave MTSU the ball back at the Blue Raiders' 41-yard-line.
The Middle Tennessee offense was quick to capitalize, scoring in two plays on a 59-yard touchdown pass from Vattiato to Jarrin Pierce and giving the Blue Raiders a two-possession lead.
Middle Tennessee extended their lead shortly thereafter despite only driving for five yards – Zeke Rankin successfully made a 35-yard field goal with four and a half minutes to play.
Toledo's final drive of the game was perhaps their most successful; receiving the ball at their own 17-yard-line, the Rockets gained five first downs over the course of fourteen plays, finishing with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Finn to DeMeer Blankumsee, narrowing the MTSU lead to 31–24.
Thomas Cluckey's onside kick attempt was recovered by Middle Tennessee, who was then able to line up in victory formation for two plays and run out the remaining one minute.