Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Illinois
Players Mentioned
Racers To Open 2016 On National TV At Illinois
8/28/2016 5:35:00 PM | Football
Date (Time): Sept. 3 (2:30 p.m.)
Opponent: Illinois
Site (Venue): Champaign, Ill. (Memorial Stadium)
TV: Big Ten Network (PxP: Eric Collins; Color: J Leman)
Audio: Froggy 103.7 FM (PxP: Neal Bradley; Color: Josh McKeel)
Web Stream: BTN2Go.com (Cable Subscription Required)
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersFootball, @PGriffithMSU
MSU Record (Streak): 0-0 (---)
Ill. Record (Streak): 0-0 (---)
All-Time Series vs. Ill. (Streak): First Meeting (---)
Last Meeting: ---
MSU Last Game: ---
Ill. Last Game: ---
MSU Next Game: Sept. 10 vs. Missouri St.
MSU Next Home Game: Sept. 10 vs. Missouri St.
The Game
The Racers will open their 2016 season on the road at Illinois. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium is scheduled for 2:42 p.m., with the game being broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network and carried locally on the radio on Froggy 103.7 FM.
Saturday's Weather
The high on Saturday in Champaign will reach 79° F with a low of 60° F. There will be a 17% chance of rain with wind coming out of the east at 7 mph with gusts of up to 10 mph.
Last Time Out
The Racers went 3-8 in 2015 and finished 7th in the OVC with a 2-6 record. The season saw the Racers put their 13-game road losing streak to bed with a thrilling 46-43 overtime win at Tennessee State. Murray State ended the season with the second-ranked passing offense in the nation at 347.3 yards per game and the 12th best offense overall at 466.1 yards per game. Senior quarterback KD Humphries led the FCS for second consecutive season in completions at 30.0, as well as total passing yards and passing yards per game at 3,778 and 343.5, respectively. Humphries also set the Murray State single-season passing mark with his 3,778 yards, passing current MSU assistant coach and Racer All-American Casey Brockman. Following the end of the season, Humphries, tight end Jesse Blackburn, running back Roman Clay and defensive back DeQuinten Spraggins all received second-team All-OVC honors.
The Illinois Series
Saturday will be the first ever meeting between the two teams. However, this will be Murray State's fourth game against a Big Ten opponent. MSU is 0-3 all-time against the Big Ten with a 49-10 loss at Wisconsin in 1999, a 66-10 loss at Minnesota in 2001 and a 45-3 loss at Indiana in 2008.
Scouting The Fighting Illini
Illinois finished the 2015 campaign at 5-7 overall and 2-6 in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini averaged 22.7 points per game last year, while giving up 23.2. On average, Illinois put up 372.7 yards per game with 129.2 coming on the ground and 243.44 coming in the air. However, it will be a new era for Illinois in 2016, as former NFL coach Lovie Smith has taken over the Illini, with his collegiate head coaching debut coming again the Racers. Wes Lunt will return under center for Illinois this season, after a junior campaign that saw him pass for 230.1 yards per game with 12 touchdowns and only six interceptions. The Illini will also have the services of their leading rusher from a season ago, Ke'Shawn Vaughn, who ran for 723 yard in 11 games for six scores and 4.6 yards per carry. After losing their top three tacklers to graduation, Illinois will look to Taylor Barton to help fill the void. Barton was fourth on the team in tackles last season with 56 and led the team in interceptions with four. Hardy Nickerson, son of the NFL great and current Illini defensive coordinator of the same name, transferred from Cal for his final season and will also look to bolster the Illinois defense. In his junior season, Nickerson led Cal in both solo tackles and total tackles, at 54 and 112, respectively, and was the only Golden Bear eclipse the 100-tackle plateau.
Turning Heads
After a record breaking season in 2016 quarterback KD Humphries has garnered four preseason All-American honors (STATS, HERO Sports, College Sports Madness, InstantScouting) and has been named to two player of the year watch lists (STATS and CFPA). He also caught the attention of the first family of quarterbacks over the summer, the Mannings, and was invited to serve as a counselor at the elite Manning Passing Academy.
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      7,342       4         9,990          240.7
Att.     1,016       4         1,405           35.7  Â
Comp.  657         2          938            25.5
TDÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 50Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â T-3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 71Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.9
Out Of The Gates
As it begins its 92nd season of football, Murray State is currently 49-38-4 all-time in season openers. However, when opening on the road, the all-time record dips below .500 at 19-25.
Number Changes
As the year changes, so do the numbers. Several Racers will be wearing new numbers for the 2016 season.
Name                        Old     New
Marquez Sanford        31           6
D'Montre Wade          34           5
Chase Boling               50          49
Lamont Crittendon      51           9
Kwan Stallworth          57          58
Drake VanHooser        72          48
Zach Shipley                82           8
A Fresh Look
For the first time since 1978, Murray State will wear a white helmet. The helmet will have the tradition "rider in M" on the left side and the player's number on the right with a navy & gold checkered trailing tail going down the middle. Uniform wise, gone is the recent gray, and in is a simple clean design featuring gold, navy and white. The two jerseys will be all white and a navy jersey with white sleeves. The two pants are navy with a white stripe down the middle and solid white.
OVC Accolades
Senior TE Jesse Blackburn was the lone MSU representative on the Preseason All-OVC team. The senior caught six touchdowns passes and racked up a total of 612 yards in 2015.
What's Up "G"?
Eight MSU players will be wearing a "G" on their jersey in place of the traditional captain's "C". The "G" stands for G.U.T.T.S or Guys You Trust To Serve. This year's G.U.T.T.S. group consists of:
No.     Name                         Cl.
2         KD Humphries            R-Sr.
6         Marquez Sanford       So.
8         Zach Shipley               R-Jr.
9         Lamont Crittendon     R-Jr.
24       Toby Omli                  Sr.
40       Wes Drewery             R-So.
69       Chris White                So.
78       Joe Irby                       Jr.
Up Next
Murray State will open its 2016 home slate with a non-conference affair against regional rival Missouri State. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on the OVC Digital Network.
