Second Half Rally Not Enough; EKU Tops MSU In 2OT

Saturday, November 14

Stewart Stadium

1 p.m.

Murray State

3-7 , 2-5

Eastern Kentucky

6-4 , 5-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Eastern Ky.

Murray St.

Photo by: Tab Brockman

11/14/2015 7:07:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Just The Facts
The Murray State football team outscored 24^th-ranked Eastern Kentucky, 20-7, in the second half, to force overtime Saturday at Stewart Stadium in Murray. However, an interception on the first play of the second overtime ended the game for the Racers, as they took a hard luck, 41-34 double overtime loss.

The Turning Point
After being outscored 20-0 in the second half and trailing 27-20, the Colonels took over after a MSU field goal with 2:38 to go in the game. EKU then drove the ball down the field 77 yards in eight plays and 1:12 of clock time to tie the game, a drive that was punctuated by a one-yard rush from Dy'Shawn Mobley.

After both teams, put up seven points in the first overtime, EKU struck first in the second with a one-yard punch in from Kentayvus Hopkins, to give his team a 41-34 lead. On the first play of MSU's ensuing possession, Jesse Blackburn was intercepted by Kobie Grace at the five on a double pass to clinch the win for the Colonels.

About The Colonels
Eastern Kentucky put up 570 yards of total offense on the day, led by 417 yards in the air from Bennie Coney. Coney was 44-for-68 with three touchdowns and an interceptions and was also his team's leading rusher adding 59 yards on the ground. His leading target was Jeff Glover with had 83 yards on eight catches with a touchdown. The conference's leader in tackles-for-loss and sacks, Noah Spence, showed out for EKU, adding 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks to his totals, to go along with seven total tackles.

A Tale Of Two Halves
After a touchdown on the second drive of the first quarter, the Murray State offense was virtually shut down by the EKU defense in the first half. The Racers had just 100 total yards on 25 plays with just two first downs, both in the first quarter, in the opening stanza. In the second half, the offense sprang to life as they racked up 20 points on 53 plays that produced 308 total yards and 18 first downs.

Conversion Problems
The Racers once again had trouble converting on third down in the game, getting just seven first downs in 20 tries, compared to the Colonels who were 12-for-25 in the category. However, that number can look a bit deceiving, as MSU may have been just 0-for-7 in the first half, they were 7-for-13 in the second half, for an impressive 53 percent.

A Chance At The Record
Quarterback KD Humphries was 30-for-51 for 319 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, marking his eighth game this season of at least 300 yards. With 3,497 yards on the year and 7,066 yards for his career, Humphries needs just 232 yards at Jacksonville State next week to set a new single-season passing record, a record set by current quarterbacks coach Casey Brockman in 2012.
Rice Is Always A Good Choice
Paul Rice racked up 113 yards on six catches with one touchdown on Saturday to lead the Racer receiving corps. The total gives him 831 yards on the season to lead all MSU receivers heading into the final game of the season

Defensive Stalwarts
DeQuinten Spraggins led the defense on the day with 12 total tackles, including a game-high eight solo, to go along with 1.5 tackles for loss and a career-high five pass breakups. Bishop Woods followed with 10 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 2.0 tackles-for-loss, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry, while Jonathan Jackson also had 10 tackles, including 0.5 for loss. Despite having only two tackles, Zach Dean also played a big role in the game as he finished with a career-high 3 quarterback hurries.

Up Next
The Racers head to Jacksonville, Alabama for their 2015 finale against the No. 1-ranked Gamecocks. Game time at Burgess-Snow Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.