Racers Travel To Austin Peay

Date (Time): Oct. 18 (6 p.m.)
Opponent: Austin Peay
Site (Venue): Clarksville, Tenn. (Governors Stadium)
Audio: Froggy 103.7 FM (PxP: Neal Bradley; Commentary: Dave Winder)
Web Stream: WatchESPN.com
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
MSU Record (Streak): 2-4, 1-2 OVC (W1)
APSU Record (Streak): 0-6, 0-2 OVC (L6)
All-Time Series vs. APSU (Streak): MSU leads 33-19 (W6)
Last Meeting: MSU 31, APSU 3 (Nov. 23, 2013 – Murray, Ky.)
MSU Last Game: W 44-41 2OT vs. #23 Southeast Missouri (Oct. 11)
APSU Last Game: L 21-49 at Mercer (Oct. 11)
MSU Next Game: Oct. 25 vs. Kentucky Wesleyan
MSU Next Home: Oct. 25 vs. Kentucky Wesleyan

The Game
Murray State will travel to Clarksville in search of its first road win and will look to keep its six-game win streak against the Govs alive. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. and can be seen on WatchESPN.com.

Saturday Weather
Temperatures during the day will reach a high of 72° F with just a 10% chance of rain. The wind will be moderate out of the northwest at nine miles per hour.

vs. Austin Peay
The Racers are 33-13 all-time against the Govs and have won each of the last six meetings. MSU has also won 13 of the last 14 meetings against Austin Peay and has not lost in Clarksville since 1991.

MSU's Last Time Out
A seven-yard pass from KD Humphries to Janawski Davis in double overtime helped propel Murray State past then-23rd ranked Southeast Missouri, 44-41.

The game went back and forth from the get-go, with Southeast Missouri never going away. In the fourth, the Redhawks scored twice to take their first lead of the game and looked to be headed back to Cape with a win. However, Humphries engineered a drive that went 10 plays for 80 yards in just over two minutes to tie the game.

In overtime, despite a 22 yard pass from Humphries to Nevar Griffin, the Racers were forced to settle for a field goal. Southeast followed that with their own 52-yard field goal, after St. Pierre Anilus made a 13-yard sack earlier in the possession. In the second overtime, the Redhawks once again had to settle for a field goal, but Humphries once again came through for MSU with a touchdown pass for the win.

Humphries finished the game by going 21-for-36 with one interception on 297 yards and a career best six touchdowns. Griffin had three of those touchdown receptions as he posted a career day of nine catches for 141 yards. Davis followed Griffin with 99 yards on six catches for two touchdowns.

Anilus, who was a last minute replacement for Jonathan Jackson, put up big numbers in his first start with a game-high 18 tackles, including two for loss and a sack. Anthony Hayes followed with 15 tackles, while Travis Taylor and DeQuinten Spraggins had 11 and 10, respectively.

Scouting Austin Peay
The Governors will enter Saturday's game still in search of their first win of the 2014 campaign. Last week, Austin Peay traveled to Mercer, where they fell to the Bears 21-49. The 21points was APSU's largest offensive output of the season, having scored just 19 points combined in the five games previous.

Kirby Cannon is in second season as the head coach for the Govs and is currently 0-18 during his tenure. Prior to Clarksville, Cannon spent 11 seasons at Missouri S&T where he went 35-86.

The Govs offense currently allows 50.5 points per game on 469.5 yards per game, while producing only 6.7 points on 212.7 yards. While mostly even, the APSU attack does lean slightly towards the run, with 119 rushing yards on average compared to 93.7 passing yards.

Mickey Macius is the current starting quarterback for Austin Peay and he enters the game at 27--for-for 55 on the season with three interceptions. He has amassed 300 yards on the air so far this season and has thrown two TD passes.

Javier Booker leads the APSU receivers with 231 yards on 14 catches and a touchdown. The leading rusher for the Govs is Otis Gerron who has rushed for 272 yards on 38 carriers with a score this season.

On defense, Antonio Turner leads the way with 40 total tackles, including 22 solo and 3.5 for loss. Damien Whitfield and Montez Carlton follow Turner with 39 and 33, respectively, while each has a team-high 28 solo tackles. Malcom Goines leads the team in TFLs with a 4.0 for a total loss of 14 yards and is one of three Govs with a sack.

Pulling Rank
With the win over then #23 Southeast Missouri, the Racers have now notched a win over a ranked opponent under Chris Hatcher in three of the four seasons they have faced one.

Hatcher vs. Cannon
Chris Hatcher and Kirby Cannon have met on just one previous occasion. Last season, Cannon's first at APSU, the Racers topped the Govs 31-3 in Murray.

Humphries Over The Hump
After dropping his first three games as a collegiate starter, KD Humphries got his first win in grand fashion with a double-overtime win over then No. 23 Southeast Missouri. The redshirt sophomore tossed a career-high six touchdown passes and threw for 297 yards.

Total Anilus-ation
Junior transfer St. Pierre Anilus made the most of last-minute start against Southeast Missouri by leading the team with 18 tackles. He also came up with a 13-yard sack in the first overtime to force the Redhawks to settle for a 52-yard field goal.

A Solid Corps
The Murray State receiving corps has been solid as unit so far this season and has not relied on just one person. Through six games, four different receivers have recorded multiple touchdown games, with Nevar Griffin the latest to join the club against Southeast Missouri. Jeremy Harness and Pokey Harris have each had a game with two or more touchdown receptions, while Janawski Davis leads the way with three.

The Very Meaning of Hurry Up
The MSU offense, known as the Hatch Attack, has always been fast paced, but this season it has really shown what a "hurry-up" offense is all about. So far this season no scoring drive has taken longer than 3 minutes, with the longest currently standing at 2:49. Through six games, the combined total of all 26 offensive scoring drives has been just 39:41, with an average of 1:28 per drive.

Award Winning Performance
KD Humphries six-touchdown performance against Southeast Missouri earned him conference and national acclaim. He was named as the adidas® OVC Offensive Player of the Week for the second straight week and as the College Sports Madness OVC Offensive Player of the Week on Sunday. On Monday, he was named as the national Co-Offensive Player of the Week by Sports Network and to the weekly National All-Star Team by College News. In addition, he was named as honorable mention for Quarterback Performer of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

St. Pierre Anilus

Janawski Davis

Nevar Griffin

Jeremy Harness

Pokey Harris

Anthony Hayes

KD Humphries

Jonathan Jackson

DeQuinten Spraggins

Travis Taylor

Murray State University Athletics