Murray State
Eastern Kentucky University
Racers fall to 1-8 with loss to EKU
11/5/2005 6:00:00 AM | Football
The Racers again played without their starting quarterback, Ken Topps, who is out with a shoulder injury, and MSU did not have tailback Chad "Tank" Cook (MSU's leading rusher) available because of a knee injury.
Racer head coach Joe Pannunzio, saddened by the recent losing streak, stated again his resolve to see the squad end the season on a positive note.
"Of course, we don't like the way this season has turned for us," he said. "It's like life, and it's not always going to be perfect. We've got to show our kids that we have to put the first nine games behind us and make the last two games of this season better."
The first quarter was a defensive struggle, as neither team was able to make paydirt. It was the first time this year in which the Racers were involved in a scoreless first quarter.
EKU got on the board first with 10:38 left in the half on a 31-yard field goal by Taylor Long.
The next Racer drive stalled after one first down at the MSU 38. The Colonels then hit an 85-yard touchdown pass from halfback Mark Dunn to Patrick Bugg for a 10-0 lead with 8:02 before half.
After another MSU punt, EKU scored on a two-yard touchdown run by quarterback Josh Greco to make it a 16-0 Colonel lead with 5:21 in the half. The score was 23-0 in favor of the Colonels at the half.
The Racer offense struggled in the first half, amassing only 75 yards, with 51 yards on the ground and 24 in the air. MSU quarterback Ryne Salyer was 5-of-9 passing in the first half.
The Racers' best drive of the day came in the third quarter when Salyer drove the team from the MSU 7 to the EKU 16, but the drive ended when Salyer missed the connection on a fourth-down pass.
Eastern Kentucky added a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown from Brandon Rosser with 9:07 left in the third quarter to take a 30-0 lead. It was the third time this season that MSU had given up an interception return for a touchdown.
The Racers avoided their second shutout of the season when Salyer hit Maurice Marchman on a 22-yard scoring pass with 13:18 left in the game. It was Salyer's fifth touchdown pass of the season and the fourth TD catch for Marchman.
Murray State ended the game with 334 total yards, while EKU had 526, the most the Racers have given up this season.
The Racers play their final home game of the season Saturday when they host Austin Peay at 3 p.m.
"We had a bunch of turnovers again today, and couple that with the injuries we have, and you can't beat a good team like Eastern Kentucky," said Pannunzio. "I felt like we didn't play hard last week at SEMO, but today, we had great effort. Things are just not going our way right now."
Game Notes:
Turnovers have been the Racers' No. 1 problem in 2005. Through nine games, they have turned the ball over 30 times, 15 on fumbles and 15 on interceptions. Amazingly, eight have been returned for touchdowns.
Today was the Racers' and Colonels' 64th game. Their first meeting was in 1929, and they have played every year since 1945. EKU has won three straight at MSU. Their last loss at Stewart Stadium was in 1999. The Colonels now lead the all-time series 36-25-4.
Patrick Schultz made his 44th straight start today at linebacker for the Racers. He has started every game since his first game as a freshman in 2002. Schultz left the game today in the early first quarter with an injury and did not return.
MSU and EKU played to a scoreless first quarter today, marking the first time this season for the Racers in nine games.
The Racers did not score in the opening half. The Illinois State game was the last time the Racers were shut out in the first half.
MSU has now fallen to 1-8 on the season and 0-6 in the OVC. Their seven-game losing streak is the longest for the Racers since 1990. The Racers can avoid their first eight-game losing streak since 1966 if they can defeat Austin Peay at home Saturday. The Racers' last win was Sept 17, when they defeated Indiana State at home 27-15.
Joe Pannunzio is 29-36 overall at Murray State, 20-21 in OVC games. He is 2-4 against Eastern Kentucky.
Senior linebacker Dione Davis posted his first career interception at MSU when he picked off an EKU pass in the third quarter.
