2025 Middle Tennessee Football Predictions: Blue Raiders Ranked 124th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136

This isn't your average college football ranking.

My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:

• Who do I think is good?
• Why do I think they're good?
• What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?

Here is a look at where Middle Tennessee lands in my Ultimate 136.

Team ranking: 124
Last year’s ranking: 100
Top player: S John Howse IV: Played in 21 games for Vanderbilt from 2021 to 2023; last season made 11 starts for MTSU where he led all defensive players on the team in snaps with 688.

[Middle Tennessee's 2025 schedule]

RJ's take: Derek Mason needs to make bowling happen for the Blue Raiders this season, because Middle Tennessee was just that bad last season.

They lost nine games by an average of 24 points, and all three of the Blue Raiders’ wins were one-score games. Despite that, Mason kept offensive and defensive coordinators Bodie Reeder and Brian Stewart, respectively, on staff. Rickey Hunt Jr. might give them a dose of offensive production that they sorely need after averaging better than 5.2 yards per carry in each of his last two seasons at Ohio and Tulsa.

[Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here]

Middle Tennessee Win Total Odds: Over 4.5 (-150) Under 4.5 (+122)

Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young, and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.

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