1953 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

The 1953 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represented the Middle Tennessee State College—now known as Middle Tennessee State University—as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 1953 college football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Charles M. Murphy, the Blue Raiders compiled a record an overall record of 7–4 with a mark of 3–2 in conference play, placing third in the OVC. The team's captains were H. Alsup and G. Rather.^[1]

1953 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	7–4 (3–2 OVC)
Head coach	Charles M. Murphy (7th season)
Captain	H. Alsup, G. Rather
Home stadium	Horace Jones Field
Seasons ← 1952 1954 →

1953 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Tennessee Tech $	5	–	0	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Eastern Kentucky	4	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Middle Tennessee	3	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Western Kentucky	2	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Murray State	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Morehead State	0	–	5	–	0			0	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19	Western Kentucky	Horace Jones Field Murfreesboro, TN	W 13–0
September 26	at Eastern Kentucky	Hanger Field Richmond, KY	L 6–15
October 3	Sewart Air Force Base*	Horace Jones Field Murfreesboro, TN	W 33–0
October 10	at Troy State*	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL (rivalry)	W 6–0		^[2]
October 17	at Morehead State	Morehead, KY	W 14–0
October 24	Memphis State*	Horace Jones Field Murfreesboro, TN	W 26–20		^[3]
October 31	Florence State*	Horace Jones Field Murfreesboro, TN	L 0–14
November 7	at Murray State	Cutchin Stadium Murray, KY	W 28–25
November 14	at East Tennessee State*	State College Stadium Johnson City, TN	W 34–28
November 21	at Vanderbilt*	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	L 13–31	16,000	^[4]
November 26	Tennessee Tech	Horace Jones Field Murfreesboro, TN	L 13–46
*Non-conference game

^[5]

After the season

NFL draft

Main article: 1954 NFL Draft

The following Blue Raider was selected in the National Football League draft following the season.^[6]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
21	251	Howard Alsup	Tackle	San Francisco 49ers

References

1. "Middle Tennessee Football 2021 Media Guide" (PDF). Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Middle Tennessee State University. 2021. p. 145. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
2. "Middle Tennessee squeezes past Troy". The Nashville Tennessean. October 11, 1953. Retrieved November 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Battling Blue Raiders blast favored Memphis State 26–20". The Daily News-Journal. October 25, 1953. Retrieved September 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Vanderbilt rallies for 31–13 win". The Knoxville Journal. November 22, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
6. "1954 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.