Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Eastern Illinois
Players Mentioned
EIU Awaits Racers Saturday In Charleston
10/16/2016 1:58:00 PM | Football
Date (Time): Oct. 22 (1 p.m.)
Opponent: #15Â Eastern Illinois
Site (Venue): Charleston, Ill. (O'Brien Field)
Audio: Froggy 103.7 FM (PxP: Neal Bradley; Color: Dave Winder)
Web Stream: OVCDigitialNetwork.com
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersFootball, @PGriffithMSU
MSU Record (Streak): 1-5, 1-2 OVC (Lost 1)
EIU Record (Streak): 5-2, 3-1 OVC (Won 2)
All-Time Series vs. EIU (Streak): Eastern Illinois leads 17-14 (Lost 4)
First Meeting: Won 38-13 (Nov. 15, 1946 in Murray, Ky.)
Last Meeting: Lost 20-34 (Oct. 31, 2015 in Murray, Ky.)
MSU Last Game: Lost 31-38 vs. UT Martin
EIU Last Game: Won 30-24 at Tennessee Tech
MSU Next Game: Oct. 29 vs. Tennessee State (Homecoming)
MSU Next Home Game: Oct. 29 vs. Tennessee State (Homecoming)
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Saturday's Weather
Partly cloudy with temps in the low 60's is what's on tap for Saturday's weather. The chance for rain is miniscule at just four percent, while winds will be moderate at 9 mph out of the NNE.
Last Time Out
In a game that saw six lead changes, including two in the fourth quarter, UT Martin outlasted the Murray State football team, 38-31, Saturday night.
Mitch Mersman began the fourth quarter by hitting his third field goal of the night to extend UT Martin's lead to 30-21. However, on the following drive Murray State drove 84 yards and capped the drive with a 23-yard pass from KD Humphries to Jesse Blackburn to pull within two at 30-28. The Skyhawks followed by going three-and-out on their next drive, giving MSU the ball back with 11:48 to play. Connor Mitchell ended the ensuing drive by nailing a 50-yard field goal to put MSU up, 31-30, with 10:06 to play. The lead, however, lasted only 15 seconds and Troy Cook connected on a 75-yard pass to Greg McKillion to put UT Martin on top for good.
The Eastern Illinois Series
Murray State has lost four consecutive games to Eastern Illinois and trails the all-time series, as a result, 17-14. In Charleston, the Racers have won just four of 15 meetings, with the last win coming in 2010.
Scouting The Panthers
Eastern Illinois overcame a 17-3 deficit to top Tennessee Tech, 30-24, Saturday in Cookeville, Tennessee. Mitch Kimble was 21-for-36 for 323 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while Devin Church rushed 25 for 139 yards.
Eastern Illinois currently averages 28.7 points on 418.3 yards per game, while its opponents are averaging 385.7 yards per game and 27.1 points. The EIU offense has relied slightly toward the pass this season, but not by much, as it is currently averaging 238.4 yards per game in the air and 179.8 yards per game on the ground, despite averaging nearly 10 more rushing attempts than passing per game. Kimble is currently averaging 216.8 passing yards per game under center for the Panthers with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Church has led the rushing attack for EIU this season with 87.7 yards per game with three touchdowns and average of 5.1 yards per carry. He has also been the one of the team's leading receiver with 28.7 yards per game and an additional four touchdowns. Defensively, Nick Horne has been a force for the Panthers with 44 total tackles, 7.0 tackles-for-loss for 24 yards, 3.0 sacks for a loss of 15 yards, two interceptions, five pass breakups, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.
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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      8,907  2         9,990  216.6
Att.     1,237  2         1,405  33.6   Â
Comp. 805     2         938     26.6
TDÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â 61Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 71Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.0
Break It Up
With three pass breakups against UT Martin, D'Montre Wade now leads the nation in passes defended with 2.0 per game. He currently has a total of 12 and is tied for the lead with Dante Blackmon of Kennesaw State and Bryan Marine of Bucknell.
Almost There
Despite the 1-5 record on the season, MSU has been in close in multiple games this season. Three of Murray State's five losses have come by a touchdown or less for a combined 14 points.
The 100 Club
After racking up 118 yards against UT Martin, Jordon Gandy has four 100-plus yard receiving games this season and is chasing Walter Powell's record. Powell has six 100-yards games in 2012, meaning Gandy needs just two to tie and three to break the record with five chances remaining.
OK, What's Next?
The Racers return to the friendly confines on Oct. 29 for Homecoming 2016 on against the Tigers of Tennessee State. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.Â
