Gagliano’s Four-Touchdown Night Powers MTSU to First Conference USA Win in Thriller Over Delaware
MURFREESBORO, TN - In a wild, back-and-forth Conference USA battle filled with lead changes, big plays, and resilience, Middle Tennessee State quarterback Roman Gagliano delivered a signature performance Tuesday night, accounting for four touchdowns as the Blue Raiders edged Delaware 33-30 at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium.
Gagliano completed 22 of 32 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns while adding a 1-yard rushing score. The victory improved MTSU to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in CUSA, marking the program’s first conference win of the season under head coach Derek Mason. Delaware fell to 2-4 and 0-2.
The game featured multiple swings. Delaware struck first with a 33-yard field goal, but MTSU answered with a 47-yard kick from Dominic Bourgeois and a safety to lead 5-3 after the first quarter. Gagliano’s short touchdown run made it 12-3 early in the second before the Blue Hens responded. A late first-half interception by Gagliano set up a trick-play touchdown pass to Delaware’s Tyler Bell, giving the visitors a 16-12 halftime edge.
MTSU wasted no time responding after the break. On the first play of the third quarter, Gagliano hit tight end Koraun Perdue for an 80-yard touchdown, flipping the lead to 19-16. Delaware answered with a 33-yard scoring strike from Bell to Josh Humes, but Gagliano found Neo Clifton for an 18-yard touchdown to put the Blue Raiders back in front 26-23.
Delaware regained the lead at 30-26 on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Bell to Kaderris Roberts early in the fourth. Trailing by four with under 10 minutes left, Gagliano and the offense answered with a methodical 10-play, 93-yard drive. He capped it with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Clifton with 3:06 remaining, giving MTSU the lead for good at 33-30.
Bryce Williams sealed the win with an interception late, allowing the Blue Raiders to run out the clock. The defense recorded five sacks—more than doubling its season total entering the game—and limited Delaware’s run game while forcing the Blue Hens into difficult situations.
“The interception was an uncharacteristic and stupid mistake that obviously I’ll learn from,” Gagliano said. “I just kept playing the game that nobody knew we had to play to win. Once you get one [conference win], it kind of just snowballs. That’s the goal going into next week.”
Gagliano praised Clifton’s growth and the team’s gritty culture under Mason. “It’s a new culture that Coach Mason has brought in… We all look each other in the eyes and remember how far we’ve come and that we’re built for this.”
Mason called it a heavyweight fight and highlighted the group’s mental toughness. “I saw this group set their chin, and we just got back to work… These guys are learning how to reset their chin a little bit in a conference where you have to.” He also credited the defense for simply “doing their job” to generate pressure and the home crowd for creating a difference-making atmosphere.
Perdue finished with 103 receiving yards and the long score, while Clifton hauled in two touchdowns. Bell threw for 306 yards and two scores for Delaware in place of the injured starter.
MTSU now turns its attention to a road trip against FIU next week, carrying the confidence of a hard-fought conference victory and a bounce-back performance from its quarterback after a difficult outing against Kansas.
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