Thundering Herd vs Blue Raiders: match preview on 13 September 2026

Blue Raiders win by a comfortable margin, backed by their dominant home display and the Herd's heavy defeat.

The Thundering Herd have only one result to go on, a 45-0 loss away to the Nittany Lions on the same date.

Marshall, known as the Thundering Herd, were comprehensively beaten on their last outing. They failed to register a single point while conceding 45. The match took place on the road, on the road compounds the issue. One defeat, one zero on the board — there is little to build confidence from.

Middle Tennessee, the Blue Raiders, came out on top in their sole recent fixture. They scored 38 points and kept a clean sheet at home against the Racers. Three points, a convincing scoreline, and momentum heading into this game.

This is an NCAA fixture, and the teams are NCAA college sides. What we have is two results from one week apart, and the numbers tell a clear story.

This conclusion stops holding if the Herd show signs of recovery or if the Raiders underperform at home. A heavy defeat does not guarantee another collapse, and a big win does not ensure dominance. But based on what is available, the Blue Raiders are the side to back.