Murray State
Jacksonville State
Players Mentioned
Racers Travel To JSU For Pivotal OVC Showdown
10/23/2019 4:13:00 PM | Football
Date (Time): Oct. 26 (3 p.m.)
Opponent: #25 Jacksonville State
Site (Venue): Jacksonville, Ala. (Burgess-Snow Field)
Audio: Froggy 103.7 FM (PxP: Neal Bradley; Color: Aaron Clayton)
TV: ESPN3 (PxP: Kevin Ingram; Color: Chip Hoback)
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersFootball
MUR Record (Streak): 4-4 [2-2 OVC] (Lost 1)
JSU Record (Streak): 5-3 [2-2 OVC] (Lost 1)
All-Time Series vs. JSU (Streak): Gamecocks lead 14-2 (Lost 5)
All-Time Series in Jacksonville (Streak): Gamecocks lead 8-1 (Lost 3)
First Meeting: W 23-17 OT (Oct. 4, 2003; Murray, Ky.)
Last Meeting: L 15-42 (Oct. 27, 2018, Murray, Ky.)
Last Five vs. JSU: 0-5 (LLLLL)
MUR Next Game: Nov. 2 vs. Tennessee Tech
MUR Next Home Game: Nov. 2 vs. Tennessee Tech
The Game
With the league up for grabs in 2019, Saturday's OVC contest between No. 25 Jacksonville State and Murray State will serve as a de facto eliminator between a pair of two loss teams. Kickoff Saturday between the Racers and the Gamecocks at Burgess-Snow Field is scheduled for 3 p.m. with the game set to air on ESPN3.
Saturday's Weather
Saturday's temps will be in the low 70s with a 50-percent chance of afternoon thunderstorms. Winds will be moderate out of the south-southeast at 8-12 mph, while the sun may not make an appearance with a predicted 86-percent cloud cover.
Last Time Out
Down 34-10 in the third quarter, the Murray State football team scored the last 17 points of Saturday's homecoming game at Roy Stewart Stadium. However, an interception in the end zone by Eastern Kentucky with under 10 seconds remaining stopped Murray State from completing its comeback and gave the Colonels a 34-27 win.
The troubles for the Racers began in the first half when they had trouble generating offense. Murray State had just 187 yards in the first half, including just 26 rushing. Despite its struggles, Murray State entered the locker room only trailing by only one score, 17-10.
 In the final minutes of the third, the Racer offense finally struck back on an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 23-yard pass from Preston Rice to Ty Terrell for the score. Minutes later Kendrick Catis intercepted EKU's Parker McKinney on the first play of the fourth quarter and returned the ball 56 for the pick-6 to pull the Racers within 10 at 34-24.
On the ensuing EKU possession, Murray State held the Colonels to three-and-out, giving its offense the ball back on its own 44 yard-line after the punt. The Racers then took the ball 43 yards down the field to one yard-line, where Zaden Webber chipped in his second field goal of the day from 19 yards out to make it 34-27.
On the final drive of the game for Murray State, Rice completed two big passes before converting a huge fourth-down play from the EKU 35 yard-line with a 19-yard pass to LaMartez Brooks, who scooted out of bounds to stop the clock. After another first down pass by Rice, the Racers looked poised to equalize only to have the ball intercepted by Frank Sumpter.
Rice finished the game completing 39 of 58 passes for 373 yard with two touchdowns and three interceptions, while LaMartez Brooks had 12 catches for a career-best 154 yards. Defensively, Anthony Koclanakis had a game-high 10 tackles, while Scotty Humpich had eight tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss for a total of 11 yards and three quarterback hurries..
The Jacksonville State Series
The Racers have not had much success in the all-time series with Jacksonville State winning just two of the 16 overall meetings. The last win in the series for the Racers was also their only win at Burgess-Snow Field, a 35-34 overtime victory in 2013. Despite having just two wins in the series, one in Murray and one in Jacksonville, both came in overtime leaving the Racers 2-0 all-time versus Jax State in extended games.
Scouting The Gamecocks
The Gamecocks are coming off of a heartbreaking 24-21 homecoming defeat at the hands of Southeast Missouri dropping their record to 5-3 overall and 2-2 OVC. Despite the 2-2 league mark, the Jax State still possesses one of the most potent quarterback-receiver tandems in all of the FCS in Zerrick Cooper and Josh Pearson. Cooper currently leads the OVC and is third in the nation in total passing yard with 2,463 which is good for 307.9. Meanwhile, his compatriot, Pearson, leads the FC in receiving touchdowns with 11 and is averaging 88.0 yards per game.
Defensively, the Gamecocks are led by Zach Woodard who leads the team in tackles with 61, to go along with 4.0 tackles-for-loss, an interception, four pass breakups and a fumble recovery. D.J. Coleman currently leads JSU in sacks at 4.0, while Tyre McKinney, Jalen Choice and Traco Williams all have a team-high 6.0 tackles-for-loss. Williams also has three picks on the year with 40 yards of returns, as well as two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
Stewart vs. Top 25
Heading into Saturday's battle with #25 Jacksonville State, head coach Mitch Stewart is 4-7 vs. the FCS Top 25 through four seasons at the helm. The Racers went 0-2 vs. the Top 25 in 2015, 2-1 in 2016 and 1-2 in both 2017 and 2018.
Moving The Chains
The chain gang for Saturday's contest at Jacksonville better come to the game in shape as they are sure to get a workout in a battle of two of the nation's best in first down offense. The Gamecocks are currently ninth in the nation with 177 or 22.2 game, while the Racers are 18th with 165 or 20.6 per game.
Helping Their Own Cause
With Kendick Catis' pick-6 against EKU, the Racers now have three defensive touchdowns on the season, ranking them third in the nation. Grambling, Central Connecticut State and Albany (NY).
OK, What's Next?
Murray State returns home for its final game before a late bye week to take on Tennessee Tech at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
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