Bahamas Bowl 2021: 3 takeaways from Middle Tennessee’s big win

The 2021 Bahamas Bowl didn’t disappoint as an underdog stole the show. Middle Tennessee wasn’t expected to win, but it raced past Toledo.

The Bahamas Bowl didn’t disappoint as the first postseason game of 2021. College football fans tuned in for a nice Friday afternoon bowl game to open a weekend of exciting contests and Middle Tennessee shocked Toledo 31-24.

Middle Tennessee was down 17-14 in the third quarter but it then went on a 17-0 run to take control of the game before Dequan Finn threw a touchdown pass with just over a minute left to pull the Rockets within a score. The ensuing onside kick didn’t go as planned for Toledo as Middle Tennessee recovered and put the game away.

This was a massive win for the young Blue Raiders and one that not many people saw coming.

What’d we learn from this big MTSU win?

3. Nick Vattiato is going to be fun to watch for a while

Freshman quarterback Nick Vattiato got the start for Middle Tennessee again and didn’t mind that the Blue Raiders were rather heavy underdogs. He passed for 270 yards and was the star of the game. He completed 23-of-35 passes and had two touchdowns as well.

Although he hadn’t been great on the year heading into this game, he still showed flashes. This may have been the performance he needed to take that next step.

Vattiato looks like he has a bright future and I have a feeling he’s going to be fun to watch in 2022.

2. Toledo didn’t take advantage of run success

Middle Tennessee was having a tough time stopping the run of Toledo and yet the Rockets decided to pass more often than not down the stretch when facing a deficit.

Even when the game was 21-17 in favor of Middle Tennessee, the Rockets were slinging the ball which wasn’t nearly as successful. Finn struggled through the air.

1. MTSU could be a problem next year

As mentioned earlier, Vattiato is just a freshman and looked great at quarterback against Toledo. He’s going to be back as QB1 next year and the future is bright with him leading the way. If he can build off this performance, Middle Tennessee is going to thrive.

On top of that, leading rusher Frank Peasant is just a freshman and he was solid, backup quarterback Mike DiLiello is just a sophomore and his ability to run is going to add a wrinkle to the offense next year, and Jaylin Lane is a dynamic freshman receiver who had a big impact in both the pass and run games.

Middle Tennessee is young and a good number of key players will be back next year which means Conference USA supremacy may be possible.