1985 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

1985 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football
OVC champion
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 21–28 vs. Georgia Southern
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	11–1 (7–0 OVC)
Head coach	Boots Donnelly (7th season)
Home stadium	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium
Seasons ←  1984 1986  →

1985 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Middle Tennessee $^	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 10 Akron ^	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 17 Murray State	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	1
No. 19 Eastern Kentucky	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Youngstown State	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Austin Peay	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Tennessee Tech	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
Morehead State	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1985 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represented Middle Tennessee State University in the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	Lenoir–Rhyne *		Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	W 37–6		[1]
September 14	at Georgia Southern *		Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 35–10	9,227	[2]
September 21	Jacksonville State *		Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	W 55–21	10,200	[3]
September 28	at Morehead State	No. 5	Jayne Stadium Morehead, KY	W 33–14		[4]
October 12	No. T–17 Eastern Kentucky	No. T–4	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	W 28–14	13,250	[5]
October 19	No. T–13 Murray State	No. 3	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	W 31–24 2OT	13,300	[6]
October 26	at Austin Peay	No. 3	Clarksville Municipal Stadium Clarksville, TN	W 17–14		[7]
November 2	Youngstown State	No. 1	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	W 28–21 2OT	8,000	[8]
November 9	Western Kentucky *	No. 1	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN (rivalry)	W 41–9	8,000	[9]
November 16	at No. T–7 Akron	No. 1	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 17–0		[10]
November 23	Tennessee Tech	No. 1	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	W 45–12		[11]
December 7	No. 9 Georgia Southern *	No. 1	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 21–28	9,500	[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

^[13]

After the season

NFL draft

The following Blue Raider was selected in the 1986 NFL draft following the season. ^[14]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
6	162	Don Griffin	Defensive back	San Francisco 49ers

References

1. "Raiders zip by Lenoir–Rhine 37–6". The Daily News-Journal. September 8, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "MTSU rambles 35–10 over Georgia Southern". The Tennessean. September 15, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Blue Raiders roll 55–21". The Tennessean. September 22, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Middle Tennessee rips Morehead State". Florida Today. September 29, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Middle Tennessee beats EKU, 28–14". The Paducah Sun. October 13, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Middle rallies late to tie, then beats Murray in 2 OTs". Lexington Herald-Leader. October 20, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Blue Raiders hang on for 8th straight win". The Commercial Appeal. October 27, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Team of destiny; Undefeated MTSU survives double OT war". The Tennessean. November 3, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Middle routs Western 41–9". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 10, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Middle Tennessee State grabs forst OVC crown in 20 seasons". The Tennessean. November 17, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "MTSU now 11–0". The Leaf-Chronicle. November 24, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Georgia Southern earns date against UNI with upset win". The Waterloo Courier. December 8, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "1985 Football Schedule" (PDF). goblueraiders.com. Middle Tennessee State University. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
14. "1986 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 29, 2023.