Middle Tennessee holds off Old Dominion 41-28

Published Sep. 27, 2014 12:19 a.m. ET

foxsports

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) Kevin Byard returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown in Middle Tennessee's 24-point second quarter and the Blue Raiders held off Old Dominion 41-28 on Friday night.

Austin Grammar threw a 27-yard scoring strike to Shane Tucker and scored on a 7-yard run in the second-quarter spree for Middle Tennessee (3-2, 2-0 Conference USA).

Grammar was 25 of 30 for 259 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 67 yards on 11 carries. He had a 10-yard scoring run in the third and made it 38-21 with a 53-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Henry in the fourth.

Jordan Parker led the Blue Raiders in rushing with 158 yards on 31 carries.

Taylor Heinicke was 29 of 44 for 362 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions for Old Dominion (3-2, 1-1). He threw three touchdown passes to Antonio Vaughan, a 27-yarder in the second quarter and 20- and 4-yarders in the third. Vaughan had seven receptions for 105 yards, and Zach Pascal led the Monarchs in receiving with eight catches for 110 yards.