Murray State University Athletics
UConn ho! Racers prepare for Division I-A road trip
9/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
The Murray State football team is getting ready for its 15th all-time Division I-A meeting, visiting Connecticut this Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
That game can be heard regionally through the Racer Sports Network, with play-by-play by Neal Bradley and color commentary by Nathan Higdon. That network includes flagship station WFGE (103.7 FM, Murray) and stations WNBS (1340 AM, Murray), WFUL (1270 AM, Fulton, Ky.), WCCK (95.7 FM, Calvert City/Benton, Ky.), WCBL (99.1 FM, Calvert City/benton, Ky.) and KYMO (1080 AM, East Prairie, Mo.).
The Racers (1-0) are coming off an impressive 56-3 win over visiting Division II opponent Glenville State. MSU boasted two 100-yard rushers in Nick Turner (106 yards) and Ron Lane (105 yards), the first time since Oct. 9, 1999, that Murray State had two 100-yard rushers in one game.
Turner, Lane and Ulysses Odoms each scored two touchdowns in the game, as the Racers tallied two TDs in each quarter. Kicker Morgan Riley added a touchdown's worth of extra points, booting six PATs in the game. Chad Cook scored the first touchdown of the game, while Lee McGinnis pulled in the last.
MSU tallied 604 yards in the game, the highest yardage and point tally since a 62-40 win over Tennessee State on Nov. 11, 2000.
Connecticut (9-3 in 2003) opens its season on Saturday at 40,000-seat Rentschler Field. The Huskies boast a strong returning quarterback in Dan Orlovsky, who threw for 3,485 yards and 33 TDs last season.
The game will be another test for Murray State's pass defense, which held pre-season All-American Glenville State QB Joey Conrad to 9-for-35 passing and 64 yards. The Racer "D" had three sacks in its first game, while UConn quarterbacks were sacked only 10 times all season last year.
Connecticut also begins its first season as a member of the Big East Conference.
Murray State's last win against a Division I-A opponent came exactly 20 years ago on the first Saturday in September against future Big East member Louisville, and MSU head coach Joe Pannunzio sees this as an opportunity for his charge.
"We are really excited," he said. "You get excited any time you play a Division I school and get to go to a big-time venue against big-time players. We know we'll have to play up to our ability to make a game of it. It's an exciting time for us."
No new injuries have been reported since Monday. Reported injuries thus far include: WR DeSean Hammons - foot (day-to-day), LB Keith McClain - thumb (day-to-day), WR Michael Waycaster - broken hand (scheduled to return Sept. 7-21), OL Quinton Hankins - surgery on knee (cartilage) (scheduled to return Sept. 20-Oct. 4), FB Zack Knight - broken fibula (scheduled to return Sept. 25-Oct. 9) and TE Heath Wilson - knee (out indefinitely).
