Defense Strong In 21-9 Loss At Louisville

Thursday, September 1

Louisville

5 p.m.

Murray State

Louisville

Photo by: Tab Brockman

9/1/2011 9:25:00 PM | Football

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The Murray State defense created four turnovers Thursday night, forcing three fumbles and an interception in a 21-9 loss against Louisville at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Ky.

The Racers (0-1) kept a threatening Louisville out of the end zone on the Cardinals first drive of the game. After reaching the Murray State 15 yard line on a 40 yard run by punter Chris Philpott on 4^th and short, Richard Biers recovered a Jeremy Wright fumble forced by Darrian Skinner on the 18 yard line to give the Racers back possession. The fumble recovery was Biers' second straight in a season opener.

Louisville (1-0) got on the scoreboard in its next possession, completing a 13 play, 70 yard drive on a four yard touchdown pass from Will Stein to Scott Radcliff with 5:10 remaining in the first.

An MSU miscue on the following drive led to another Cardinals score. A mishandled snap on a punt attempt gave Louisville possession on the Murray State 13 and Victor Anderson ran in from two yards out on the second play for the second touchdown of the quarter.

The Racers responded better on their next possession, rattling off back-to-back first downs on an 18 yard pass to Ja-Vonta Trotter and a 10 yard scramble by Mike Harris to reach the MSU 42.

Following Louisville's second passing touchdown of the game to open up the second quarter, the Racers marched down the field, using eight rushes to pick up most of the 46 yards gained on the drive before an interception on third down from the Louisville 34 ended the possession.

The Racers got the ball back quickly though, picking up their second turnover of the game. Facing 3^rd and 17 after three straight false start penalties, Darrell Davis intercepted Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater 35 yards down the field in man-to-man coverage as MSU took over on its own 24. The change of possession by the Racer defense made it four straight season openers with at least two turnovers.

Brockman's longest completion of the half came with under three minutes, finding Arthur Brackett wide open for a 29 yard gain. He found Brackett again later in the drive, leading the Racers into the red zone on a 20 yard strike down the right sideline with under a minute remaining.

Kienan Cullen ended the MSU drive with points, connecting from 30 yards out on the right hash mark for the first Racers score.

Harris ended the half the star of the offense, leading all ball carriers in the game with 71 yards on 16 carries.

The Racers came out solid on defense after halftime, holding the Cardinals to a three and out and forcing Philpott short of a first down on another punt run attempt that mirrored the same play from earlier in the game.

The defense forced another turnover halfway through the half as Kevin Robinson landed on and recovered a loose ball that slipped out of Stein's hands at the Louisville 34. The Cardinals went right back on offense a play later as Brockman was hit as he was throwing, leading to his second INT of the game.

Victor Daniels was responsible for the fourth Louisville turnover, stripping Victor Anderson from behind in the open field after he had broken off a 20 yard run. Davis recovered for the loose ball on the turf for MSU, his second turnover recovery on the night.

The turnover lead to the first Murray State touchdown as the Racers drove 74 yards down the field in 13 plays. The Racers picked up three third down conversions in the sequence before Mike Harris scampered through the middle of the field for a 22 yard score.

Harris ended the night with 116 yards on the ground, averaging 4.46 yards per carry as he broke the century mark on his touchdown run.

Brockman rebounded from a rough start to the game to finish with 148 passing yards, picking up five first downs with his feet as he ran for 44 yards.

Julian Whitehead led the defense with nine tackles, Sam Small had a team-best 1.5 tackles-for-loss and Daniels recorded a sack. The Racers held Louisville scoreless in the second half, limiting the home team to 131 second half yards.

Murray State stays on the road next week, traveling to Itta Bena, Miss., to take on Mississippi Valley State. Kick off is scheduled for 4 p.m. The game can be see on the Racer TV Network.