Superlatives:
Dequan Finn’s 90-yard touchdown pass to Matt Landers for Toledo in the second quarter was the longest play in Bahamas Bowl history. It was also Toledo’s longest play of the year and a career-long rush for Finn.
Landers finished with 137 receiving yards, tied for the third-most in the game’s history.
Middle Tennessee set a new Bahamas Bowl record with eight pass breakups, led by three apiece from Quincy Riley and Teldrick Ross.
The game was scoreless for the first 13:30, the longest stretch to start a game in Bahamas Bowl history.
The 13 combined punts are a new Bahamas Bowl record. Previously, no team had punted more than five times in the game. Today, both teams surpassed that mark: seven by Toledo and six by Middle Tennessee.
For the first time in Bahamas Bowl history, the team with more rushing yards lost the game.
The third quarter marked the third time a Bahamas Bowl quarter has been scoreless.
The 2021 game had an attendance of 13,596, the second-highest in Bahamas Bowl history.
Honors:
Middle Tennessee’s Nicholas Vattiato was named the Offensive Player of the Game. He finished 23-of-35 passing for 270 yards and two scores without an interception.
DQ Thomas earned Defensive Player of the Game honors for the Blue Raiders. He finished with team highs of eight tackles and 1.5 TFLs, also breaking up a pass and notching a QB hurry.
Miscellaneous Notes:
The temperature was 80 degrees at kickoff with 14 mph winds out of the East. The weather was sunny, except for a 15-minute rain during halftime.
Middle Tennessee’s victory gives C-USA a 4-3 lead over the MAC in Bahamas Bowl play.
Middle Tennessee won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. MTSU defended the North endzone.
