Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
UT Martin
Players Mentioned
Racers Host UT Martin Saturday For White Out Game
10/10/2016 3:58:00 PM | Football
Date (Time): Oct. 15 (6 p.m.)
Opponent: UT Martin
Site (Venue): Murray, Ky. (Roy Stewart Stadium)
Audio: Froggy 103.7 FM (PxP: Neal Bradley; Color: Josh McKeel)
Web Stream: OVCDigitialNetwork.com
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersFootball, @PGriffithMSU
MSU Record (Streak): 1-4, 1-1 OVC (Won 1)
UTM Record (Streak): 3-3, 2-1 OVC (Won 1)
All-Time Series vs. UTM (Streak): Murray State leads 35-19-1 (Lost 5)
First Meeting: Won 13-0 (Oct. 17, 1924 in Murray, Ky.)
Last Meeting: Lot 45-52 (Oct. 24, 2015 in Martin, Tenn.)
MSU Last Game: Won 45-17 at Austin Peay
UTM Last Game: Won 45-31 vs. Austin Peay
MSU Next Game: Oct. 22 at No. 18 Eastern Illinois
MSU Next Home Game: Oct. 29 vs. Tennessee State (Homecoming)
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Saturday's Weather
Fans can expect temperatures to get to the mid-70's Saturday, before dropping to the mid-to-high 60's for the game. Wind should not be a factor for the kickers in the contest, as it will be low at 5 mph out of the north. Chances of rain for the game are also low at around 14-percent for the entire day.
Last Time Out
Senior KD Humphries completed a school-record 49 of 60 passes for 455 yards and five touchdowns as the Murray State football team routed Austin Peay, 45-17, at Fortera Stadium in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Trailing 31-17, Austin Peay took over on their own 27-yard line with just under four minutes left in the third quarter after a missed Murray State field goal. The Governors marched the ball down the field, eventually yielding a first-and-goal situation from the Murray State eight. As the game moved into the fourth quarter, Austin Peay would get gains of one, three and two yards to set up a fourth-and-goal from the two. On the ensuing play, Sean Rodriguez stopped Austin Peay's Julian Franklin at the line of scrimmage to force the turnover on downs. The Racers then took the ball 98 yards down the field, eating 6:13 seconds of clock time in the process, and ended the drive with a nine-yard pass from Humphries to Mitch Stults to put the game virtually out of reach at 38-17.
KD Humphries passed for five touchdowns and rushed for another in Saturday's win, finishing the night at 49-for-60 for 455 yards. He connected with 11 different receivers in the contest and broke his own school record for completions in a single-game, which was 48 against Tennessee Tech in 2014. His 49 completions are the most by a FCS quarterback this season and he is currently the only FCS quarterback this season throw for at least 450 yards, pass for at least five touchdowns and complete at least 40 passes in a single game.
The UT Martin Series
Despite Murray State holding a 35-19-1 advantage overall, the series, as of late, has belonged to the Skyhawks. UT Martin has won each of the last five meetings and 10 of the last 11. The last win for the Racers came in 2010, when they topped UTM in Murray, 52-16. At home, the Racers hold a 19-7-1 advantage over the Skyhawks, despite only winning there twice since 2004.
Scouting The Skyhawks
A week after a heartbreaking loss to Tennessee State on the road, UT Martin got back on track with a 45-31 win at home over Austin Peay and will enter Saturday at 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the OVC. The Skyhawks put up 568 yards of total offense in the game, including 380 passing yards. Senior Ben Axline set a UTM record in the game by tallying 198 yards on eight catches to go along with a touchdown. Defensively, Khalid Hagens and Justin Jackson led UT Martin in the game with 13 and 11 tackles, respectively.
The Skyhawks are currently averaging 398.7 yard per game this season with 142.8 yards per game coming on the ground and 255.8 yards in the air. Quarterback Troy Cook has completed 75 of his 114 passes this season with 1165 yards, 16 touchdowns and just five interceptions. After his big game Saturday, Axline leads the UTM receivers 447 yards and three touchdowns on 21 catches. On the ground this season, head coach Jason Simpson has relied on primarily on two running backs, Jaimiee Bowe and Ladevin Fair. Bowe leads the team with 371 yards on 79 carries with five touchdowns, while Fair has 267 yards on 56 carries and one touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, Hagens leads UT Martin with 47 total tackles, while Caleb Counce has also been a big contributor with a team high 3.0 sacks for a loss of 17 yards and 5.5 tackles-for-loss for a total of 24 yards.
White Out
Murray State fans attending Saturday's game are asked to wear white to the game as part of a White Out in coordination with United Way and Town & Gown. In addition and contrary to football norms, the Racers will be dressed in all white for the game, while the visiting Skyhawks will wear their traditional home blue jerseys.
Tickets For Cans
Fans that bring five canned goods to Saturday's game can get two tickets for the price of one. The offer is the kick-off to MSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee 11th Annual Canned Food Drive which will run through November 18.
Landon Stratton's Day Off
In its last game, Murray State did not utilize the services of punter Landon Stratton once. All fourth downs for the Racers either came in short yardage situations, inside or close to the red zone or within field goal range. Only once, did MSU have a fourth down in its own territory, a 4th-and-2 from the Racer 49 that it successfully converted. The game marks the first time since Oct. 9, 1999 against UT Martin that an MSU team did not punt.
Seeing Red
One of the most improved areas for Murray State this season has been its red zone defense. The Racers have made six stops in 18 red zone attempts by their opponents for a percentage of 66.7, which is currently the 10th best in the nation. In contrast, MSU made just four stops in all of last season and finished 119th in that category.
Accuracy Counts
While KD Humphries currently leads the nation in completions at 31.3 per game, he is also one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the country. So far this season he has completed 125 of 177 passes for a percentage of 70.6, which is currently the third-best in all of FCS. Samford's Devlin Hodges currently leads the category at 72.9 percent (145-199).
Lucky Number Seven
Junior receiver Jordon Gandy's six touchdowns currently leads the OVC and is the seventh most by any receiver in the FCS this season. Jake Wienke of South Dakota State currently leads the way in the receiving touchdowns with 10.
Chasing History
Senior QB KD Humphries has a chance to take over as all-time leader in all four major passing categories (attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns) this season, all four of which are currently owned by current MSU WR coach, Casey Brockman. Below is a chart showing where Humphries currently is and what he needs for the record.
           Career Cur.                Needed
Cat.    #         Rank.  Record           Per Gm.
Yds      8,659  2         9,990  221.8
Att.     1,193  2         1,405  35.3   Â
Comp. 782     2         938     26.0
TDÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â 58Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 71Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.1
OK, What's Next?
Murray State will travel to the Land of Lincoln for the third time this season for a date with the 18th-ranked Panthers of Eastern Illinois. Kickoff at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston is scheduled for 1 p.m.
