Middle Tennessee 61, Savannah State 7: Austin Grammer passed for 250 yards and the Blue Raiders scored touchdowns on their first four possessions in an opening-night home romp against the Tigers.

Grammer was nearly perfect as he completed 15-of-17 passes with one touchdown and no interceptions. Reggie Whatley ran for 65 yards and Marcus Henry caught three passes for 84 yards for the Blue Raiders (1-0), who outgained the Tigers 519-229 despite losing the time of possession battle by more than five minutes.

Ker-Sean Wilson completed 15-of-31 tosses for Savannah State, but could manage only 84 yards and was picked off once. Savannah State (0-1) ran for 145 yards – getting 46 yards and a 4-yard TD from Anthony Criswell while Joshua Berry added 36 yards on six carries.

Grammer led Middle Tennessee to 275 yards on its first four drives to build a 27-0 lead with 12:15 left in the first half. The Blue Raiders led 34-0 at the half and started the third quarter by recovering a fumble in the end zone and getting a 61-yard punt return by Ed'Marques Batties just four minutes in.

Jordan Parker added a 1-yard run with just over eight minutes to go in the quarter and Tony Rowland tacked on another short score late in the final stanza after Criswell put the Tigers on the board. Middle Tennessee converted 9-of-10 third downs, helping it to overcome three turnovers.