NICHOLAS VATTIATO NEWS

Won't play Saturday Vattiato (undisclosed) is out Saturday versus New Mexico State.

Impact Vattiato will miss a third consecutive to end the campaign. He completed 219 of his 357 pass attempts for 2157 yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions across nine games in addition to carrying the ball 62 times for 20 yards and another two touchdowns. In his absence, Roman Gagliano will make another start at quarterback.

5 DAYS AGO • ROTOWIRE

Ruled out again Saturday Vattiato (undisclosed) is out for Saturday's game versus Sam Houston.

Impact Vattiato will miss his second straight game Saturday as he deals with an undisclosed injury. Roman Gagliano is set to make his second straight start in Vattiato's absence. Vattiato's next chance to play is next Saturday in the regular season finale.

NOVEMBER 22 • ROTOWIRE

Out for Week 12 Vattiato (undisclosed) won't play in Week 12 against Western Kentucky.

Impact Vattiato is coming off one of his better performances of the season, in which he tossed for 242 yards and three touchdowns. However, the senior quarterback will now miss his first game of the season, paving the way for Roman Gagliano to get the start at gunslinger for the Blue Raiders.

NOVEMBER 15 • ROTOWIRE

Throws three TDs, INT Vattiato went 26-for-37 for 242 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception against FIU on Saturday.

Impact Vattiato throws the ball a lot, but he's averaged 6.0 yards per attempt. He's also thrown an interception against all but one of his FBS opponents. Although, to be fair, he's also thrown multiple touchdown passes in each of his last four games.

NOVEMBER 9 • ROTOWIRE

Pesansky accounts for 5 TDs as FIU beats Middle Tennessee 56-30

Joe Pesansky accounted for five touchdowns as Florida International beat Middle Tennessee 56–30

NOVEMBER 8 • Associated Press

Throws two TDs, INT Vattiato went 23-for-45 for 235 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception against JSU on Wendesday. He also ran six times for 20 yards.

Impact The Blue Raiders let Vattiato make good use of his arm, as he's thrown 320 passes in eight games. However, all those passes have yielded only 1,915 yards, and while he's thrown 13 touchdowns he's also thrown six interceptions.

OCTOBER 30 • ROTOWIRE

Three TDs, two turnovers Vattiato went 31-for-48 for 281 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception against Delaware on Wednesday. He also lost a fumble.

Impact This may be Vattiato's best game of the season, which isn't great given that he had two turnovers. He's had over 250 passing yards in each of his last four games and had multiple touchdowns three times, but he's also turned the ball over four times as well.

OCTOBER 22 • ROTOWIRE

Missouri State beats Middle Tennessee 22-20 for the program's first Conference USA victory

Freshman Deuce Bailey threw for 278 yards and a touchdown, and he added a touchdown on the ground in his first career start as Missouri State beat Middle Tennessee 22-20 for the pr...

OCTOBER 9 • Associated Press

Throws two TDs Vattiato went 30-for-42 for 267 yards and two touchdowns against Missouri State on Wednesday. He fumbled twice, but MTSU fell on them both.

Impact Efficient or not, taking 42 attempts to get to 267 yards speaks to the low-stakes, dink-and-dunk offense MTSU is opting for. There are no big plays in this offense, and the Blue Raiders are 1-5. Still, Vattiato will likely be running this offense, and be starting, until head coach Derek Mason is fired.

OCTOBER 8 • ROTOWIRE

Throws another interception Vattiato went 28-for-42 for 285 yards and an interception against Kennesaw State on Saturday. He also ran for 11 yards.

Impact Taking 42 pass attempts to get to 285 yards is not ideal. This is also his four game in a row with an interception. Vattiato is a known commodity at this point, and one starts to wonder if MTSU looks to see what another quarterback can do.

SEPTEMBER 27 • ROTOWIRE

Throws another interception Vattiato went 28-for-42 for 285 yards and an interception against Kennesaw State on Saturday. He also ran for 11 yards.

Impact Taking 42 pass attempts to get to 285 yards is not ideal. This is also his four game in a row with an interception. Vattiato is a known commodity at this point, and one starts to wonder if MTSU looks to see what another quarterback can do.

SEPTEMBER 27 • ROTOWIRE

Totals three TDs Vattiato went 19-for-32 for 299 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception against Marshall on Saturday. He also ran for a touchdown.

Impact Vattiato tallied three touchdowns, but this offense is kind of a mess (so is the defense, which cost MTSU this game). The veteran starter has averaged a mere 5.9 yards per attempt, he has an interception in each of his last three starts, and while he has two rushing scores, he's underwater on the season in terms of rushing yards.

SEPTEMBER 21 • ROTOWIRE

Marshall scores 21 points in the fourth quarter for a 42-28 win over Middle Tennessee

Carlos Del Rio-Wilson threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns in Marshall's 42-28 win over Middle Tennessee State on Saturday night

SEPTEMBER 21 • Associated Press

Vattiato drives Middle Tennessee to 2 scores in final 6 1/2 minutes, Blue Raiders top Nevada 14-13

Nicholas Vattiato scrambled 5 yards for a touchdown with 21 seconds remaining, lifting Middle Tennessee to a 14-13 victory over Nevada

SEPTEMBER 14 • Associated Press

Throws TD, INT Vattiato was 20-for-31 for 197 yards, one touchdown, and one interception against Wisconsin on Saturday.

Impact Yes, the matchup wasn't easy, but this is Vattiato's third season as MTSU's starter and he's been with the program since 2021. He was bad last season and has started this season just as poorly, so there is no reason to believe in some out-of-nowhere turnaround in 2025.

SEPTEMBER 6 • ROTOWIRE

Throws TD, INT Vattiato was 20-for-31 for 197 yards, one touchdown, and one interception against Wisconsin on Saturday.

Impact Yes, the matchup wasn't easy, but this is Vattiato's third season as MTSU's starter and he's been with the program since 2021. He was bad last season and has started this season just as poorly, so there is no reason to believe in some out-of-nowhere turnaround in 2025.

SEPTEMBER 6 • ROTOWIRE

Wisconsin hosts Middle Tennessee in Week 2

The Wisconsin Badgers take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

SEPTEMBER 2 • Associated Press

Throws two TDs in poor game Vattiato went 15-for-37 for 104 yards and two touchdowns against Austin Peay on Saturday.

Impact Once again, Vattiato was called upon as the starter for MTSU. What Derek Mason got for his trust is a completion percentage below 50, 104 yards on 36 attempts, and a loss to an FCS team.

AUGUST 30 • ROTOWIRE

Throws two TDs, INT Vattiato went 21-for-33 for 256 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. He also ran seven times for 28 yards.

Impact Remarkably, Vattiato finishes with 3,092 passing yards exactly for the second season in a row. Of course, his completion percentage dropped and he went from 23 touchdown passes to 16. Also, his rushing numbers decreased. One imagines Derek Mason might want to find his own starting quarterback for 2025 after inheriting Vattiato in 2024.

DECEMBER 1, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Throws two TDs, two INTs Vattiato went 30-for-45 for 277 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions against NMSU on Saturday. He also ran five times for 16 yards.

Impact That brings Vattiato to 14 touchdowns and nine picks through 11 games. While Vattiato has been the starter for the last two years for the Blue Raiders, surviving a coaching change, it feels like next week against FIU will (and should) be his last game as a starter for the team.

NOVEMBER 23, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Throws for two TDs Vattiato went 22-for-33 for 263 yards and two touchdowns against Liberty on Saturday. He also ran eight times for 26 yards, but lost a fumble.

Impact Though Vattiato throws it a lot,having attempted at least 31 passes in every game, he's only topped 300 yards once. His 13 total touchdowns are also paired with 11 turnovers.

NOVEMBER 9, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Vattiato's late TD run helps Middle Tennessee beat UTEP 20-13

Nicholas Vattiato threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Myles Butler and ran for a 1-yard touchdown with 1:53 to play to help Middle Tennessee beat UTEP 20-13

NOVEMBER 2, 2024 • Associated Press

Two TDs, two INTs Vattiato went 21-for-35 for 239 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions against UTEP on Saturday. He also ran for 14 yards and a touchdown.

Impact Vattiato has one rushing touchdown and seven rushing yards total on the season, so don't take much from that. He's also only thrown for 10 touchdowns against seven picks. Vattiato likely will finish out the season as the starting quarterback, but expect changes to the roster in the offseason.

NOVEMBER 2, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Throws two TDs Vattiato went 25-for-36 for 297 yards and two touchdowns against Jacksonville State on Wednesday.

Impact Vattiato has held onto the starting job through a coaching transition from last season to this one, but his performance has regressed. He's thrown nine touchdowns against five picks, and after rushing for 397 yards and two touchdowns last year he has lost yardage on the ground in 2024.

OCTOBER 24, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Throws for 199 yards Vattiato went 19-for-34 for 199 yards versus KSU on Tuesday.

Impact The Blue Raiders won, but for that you can thank the incompetence of the Owls offense. Vattiato has more games with zero touchdowns than games with multiple touchdowns, and he's barely keeping the offense moving as he's averaged 7.5 yards per attempt.

OCTOBER 16, 2024 • ROTOWIRE