Sam Houston's Losing Streak and Quarterback Change Shape Middle Tennessee Visit

Middle Tennessee visits Sam Houston in Huntsville on Saturday, November 21 at 2:00 PM ET, and Sam Houston arrives on a long slide. It has lost five straight games overall and has failed to cover the spread in six straight. Middle Tennessee won last year's meeting 31-17 on November 22, 2025, at home, though that is the only recent meeting and says little about the current rosters.

The biggest variable is Sam Houston's quarterback room. Landyn Locke is the starter, coming off a game with 21 pass attempts against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks on November 7, and he has led the team in attempts in two of its last three games. The team changed passers between its last two games: DJ Bailey led it with 35 attempts against the Missouri State Bears on October 27. Sam Houston's recent results therefore come from a mix of passers, and the Locke sample is very small.

Middle Tennessee looks more settled. Roman Gagliano has led the team in pass attempts in each of its last three games, including 41 attempts against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on November 7. His targets are concentrated: Cam'ron Lacy has 19 receptions over that three-game span, with Ziyon Butler at 10 and Neo Clifton at 8. The ground game carries real volume as well, with Antonio Martin at 45 carries and Terrence Brown at 36 over the last three games.

Sam Houston's skill-player usage is flatter and lighter. Landan Brown has 15 carries and MJ Dowdy has 12 over the last three games, far fewer than Middle Tennessee's two lead backs have taken. In the passing game Grady O'Neill leads with 14 receptions, followed by Chris Reed with 11 and Tim Burns Jr. with 10. Carry totals can reflect game situations as much as design, so treat that gap as descriptive rather than a verdict.

The streaks add context without predicting anything. Middle Tennessee has gone over the game total in five straight games, which fits the pass volume above. Sam Houston has lost four straight non-division, in-conference games at home and three straight as a home underdog. Those runs describe a team that has been losing and not covering, but they do not account for the quarterback change or for the quality of opponents faced.

Conditions look routine: a forecast of 67°F, wind 7 mph from the southeast and partly cloudy skies, which should not restrict either passing attack. Neither team has a reported injury. The evidence points mostly in one direction, toward Middle Tennessee's steadier recent profile, but it rests on short windows of usage, one meeting from a year ago and a Sam Houston passer with limited recent work. The main uncertainty is how much the new quarterback changes an offense that has been on a losing run.