Murray State University Athletics
Racers set to kick off 2005
9/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
At the kickoff on 6 p.m. Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, Miss., the Murray State Racers will begin their 81st season of football against the Mississippi State Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference.
The Racers, coming off their first winning season since 2002, are 3-2 in season openers under head coach Joe Pannunzio, but two of those losses have come to I-A opponents (Mississippi in 2001 and Memphis in 2002). The Racers have won the last two season openers, against Valparaiso in 2003 and Glenville State in 2004.
The Racers will also look to build on another streak, consecutive games won. Murray State won the last four games of 2004, which is good for the longest win streak for the Racers to begin a season since 1951, when the Racers were Ohio Valley Conference champions.
This is the second all-time meeting between the Racers and Bulldogs, the other coming in 1946 (Mississippi State won 69-0).
This game also marks the homecoming of several players on the Racer roster and coaching staff. In Pannunzio's five-year tenure as Racer head coach, Murray State has had 42 players who hail from Mississippi, including 15 this season. Three current Racers (running back Nick Turner, tight end Linzy Patterson and quarterback Ken Topps) all originally signed with Mississippi State out of high school.
Pannunzio is looking forward to returning to familiar ground for him and his players.
"I have a history in the SEC when I was at Ole Miss and Auburn, so it does give this game a different feeling for me and the players," Pannunzio said. "We've had cowbells ringing at practice a bunch of days so the players will get used to it. I know there will be a big crowd on Saturday, and we're excited to play in front of a big crowd. All our kids from Mississippi will enjoy going back home."
The Racers return 10 starters, seven on offense (wide receiver Danny Rumley, Turner, running back Chad Cook, tight end Bo Baxter, offensive tackle Richard Deutch, offensive guard Eugene Russell and fullback Matt Webber), two on defense (safety Tony Ryan and linebacker Rick Schultz) and one specialist (kicker Morgan Riley).
The Racers also return their top two leading rushers from last season (Cook had 834 yards, Turner 746) and their leading receiver from last season (Rumley, with 36 receptions, 578 yards, six touchdowns). A total of 15 Racers are expected to make their starting debuts for the Racers on Saturday.
The Bulldogs return 17 starters from last season's 3-8 team. The Bulldogs' leading rusher, Jerious Norwood, gained 1,050 yards last season on 195 carries, while the Bulldogs also return quarterback Omarr Conner, who threw for 1,224 yards and six touchdowns last season. The Bulldogs' top three returning wide receivers (Will Prosser, Tee Milons, Eric Butler) all combined to receive 779 yards last season (49 percent of the receiving yards) and six touchdowns. The Bulldogs' leading returner in tackles is Willie Evans, who ranked second on the team last season with 67 total tackles.
