Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Southern Illinois
Players Mentioned
Rivalry Renewed – Racers Travel To SIU Saturday
9/12/2016 5:17:00 PM | Football
Date (Time): Sept. 17 (6 p.m.)
Opponent: Southern Illinois
Site (Venue): Carbondale, Ill. (Saluki Stadium)
Audio: Froggy 103.7 FM (PxP: Neal Bradley; Color: Dave Winder)
Web Stream: ESPN3/WatchESPN.com
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersFootball, @PGriffithMSU
MSU Record (Streak): 0-2 (Lost 2)
SIU Record (Streak): 1-1 (Won 1)
All-Time Series vs. SIU (Streak): Murray State leads 10-8-2 (Lost 1)
First Meeting: Won 6-3 (September 30, 1927 in Murray, Ky.)
Last Meeting: Won 41-38 (September 13, 2003 in Carbondale, Ill.)
MSU Last Game: Lost 22-28 vs. Missouri State
SIU Last Game: Won 33-20 vs. Southeast Missouri
MSU Next Game: Sept. 24 vs. Southeast Missouri (Family Weekend)
MSU Next Home Game: Sept. 24 vs. Southeast Missouri (Family Weekend)
The Game
For the first time in 13 years, the Racers will meet Southern Illinois on the gridiron Saturday. Kickoff from Saluki Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m., with the game being broadcast on ESPN3.
Saturday's Weather
The outlook for Saturday isn't great, with a 56 percent chance of rain. The day's high will be 80 degrees, while dipping to 62 degrees at night. The winds, however, should not be problem for the kickers as they will be just 4 mph out of the NNW with gusts of only 9 mph.
Last Time Out
The Murray State football team found itself in an early 13-3 hole and was never able to recover, falling to Missouri State, 28-22, at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray. Despite throwing for 356 yards and two touchdowns, senior quarterback KD Humphries committed an uncharacteristic four turnovers, including three interceptions.
The Bears were able to turn two of the four turnovers into touchdowns, helping to seal their first win over the Racers since 2009. The Racers closed the gap late in the third quarter and trailed, just 21-19. However, despite pinning Missouri State deep in their own end zone in the fourth quarter on a muffed punt return, the Bears scored with just over six minutes to play, extending the lead to 28-19. With under two minutes to go, Murray State cut the lead to just six on a Connor Mitchell field goal, but couldn't recover the ensuing onside kick, allowing Missouri State to hold on for the win.
Connor Mitchell was perfect 3-for-3, a career high, on field goals in the game with kicks of 31, 36 and 37 yards and was 1-for-1 on PAT attempts. He also notched another career-high of two touchbacks on five kickoffs with an average of 60.8 yards per kick. Jordon Gandy also had a career night with career-highs of five catches for a total 104 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown was a 55-yarder, while his second was quick one-yard strike. Lamont Crittendon finished the game with 12 tackles, including a game-high 3.0 for a total loss of eight yards. He also blocked a field goal in the second quarter and came up with a tackle on fourth and three in the first quarter that forced a turnover on downs.
The Southern Illinois Series
Saturday will be the first meeting between the teams in over a decade with Murray State leading the all-time series 10-8-2. The series is one of the oldest in the history of Racer football with the first meeting taking place in 1927, just the fourth year of the program. The two teams last met in 2003 in Carbondale when the Salukis picked up a 32-7 win. Despite leading the all-time series, the Racers have not performed well in Carbondale winning just two of the all-time 10 meetings there.
Scouting The Salukis
After a close loss at Florida Atlantic in week one, the Salukis held off a late charge from SEMO in week two for the 33-20 win, their first of the season. Josh Straughn led SIU under center by going 16-for-34 for 265 yards and a touchdown. Freshman kicker Matt Sotiropoulos also played a big role in the game by going 3-for-3 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points. Jefferson Vea led the SIU defense in the game with 12 total tackles, while James Ceasar had three pass breakups and a 43-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
The Salukis are currently averaging 30.0 points per game to go along with 466.5 yards of total offense, while holding opponents 30.0 point and 426.0 yards per game. SIU's offense favors the passing with 326 yards coming through the air and 140.5 yards on the ground. Straughn is currently averaging 316.0 yards a game and completing passes at a 61.8-percent clip. Connor Iwema has been his leading target this season, averaging 78.0 yards per game and 15.6 yards per catch.
Allen Chase leads all tacklers for SIU through two games with 19, while Vea follows closely behind at 18. Deondre Bennett has also been a force for the Salukis with eight total tackles, 2.0 sacks for a total loss of 13 yards, three quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles.
The Big 3
With three field goals in Saturday's loss to Missouri State, Connor Mitchell becomes the first player since Jordan Benton in 2012 to make three or more field goals in the same game. In addition, he also notched the first tackle of his career in the game.
Red Zone Rising
After marked improvement in the first year under coordinator Chris Boone, the Murray State defense has continued to get better in the early weeks of Boone's second season. One area in particular is red zone defense, a category in which the Racers are currently ranked 21st in the nation and second in the OVC. In 2015, MSU had just four red zone stops in 44 attempts. So far in 2016, the Racer "D" has three stops in eight attempts.
The Blue Wall
Lamont Crittendon's block of Missouri State's field goal attempt Saturday, kept alive a pretty impressive streak by the Racers. The Racers have now blocked at least one kick in every season dating back to at least 1995, spanning parts of three decades and now standing at 21 total seasons.
Home Away From Home
Saturday's trip to Carbondale will mark the second trip this season to the state of Illinois this season for the Racers with one more still to come in Eastern Illinois. Opponents from the Land of Lincoln account for exactly 50 percent of MSU's road games this season.
Once Friends, Now Foes
Two sets or former teammates will be on opposing rosters when Murray State and SIU take the field Saturday. MSU kicker Hector Garcia and SIU linebacker Corey Crider both graduated from Graves County HS in 2014, while Rajai Perkins and Jimmy Jones played together at Hazelwood East in St. Louis.
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 7,861 3 9,990 236.6
Att. 1,099 4 1,405 34.0
Comp. 710 2 938 25.3
TD 52 T-2 71 2.1
Up Next
The Racers return home next week for their annual Family Weekend game and OVC opener against Southeast Missouri. Kickoff for the game, which will be broadcast on ESPN3, is scheduled for 6 p.m.
