Racers Can’t Overcome Early Mistakes at SIU

Saturday, September 17

Carbondale, Ill.

6 p.m.

Murray State

0-3

Southern Illinois

2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Murray State

SIU

Photo by: Tab Brockman

9/17/2016 11:29:00 PM | Football

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)SEASON STATS (PDF)

Just The Facts
For the second straight game, the Murray State football team got down early in the contest and could not recover, falling 50-17 to Southern Illinois Saturday at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale.

The Turning Point
D. J. Davis ran back the game's opening kickoff for a touchdown to give SIU the early 7-0 lead. The Salukis would go on to add a field goal and another touchdown, to put the Racers in a 17-0 hole with just under eight minutes to play in the opening stanza. Murray State would add a touchdown and field goal of its own in the quarter, but couldn't score in the second quarter and would never be able to recover from the 38-10 halftime deficit.

About The Salukis
The Saluki offensive attack was fairly evenly split on the night with 269 yards on the ground and 289 in the air for 558 total yards of offense. Josh Straughn was 27-for-34 for 289 yards and four touchdowns under center for the Salukis on the night. DaQuan Isom rushed for 104 yards on 15 carries to lead the Saluki rushing attack. Chase Allen led the SIU defense with 10 total tackles and 2.0 for loss, while Khari Waithe-Alexander had a game-high 2.0 sacks, as well as an interception.

100 On Repeat
For the second straight game, Jordon Gandy had over 100 receiving yards and a touchdown. He finished Saturday with three catches for a career-high 106 yards with his touchdown coming on a 64-yard pass from Cameron Birse.

Collegiate Debut
Cameron Birse made his collegiate debut at quarterback Saturday against SIU. He finished the game 15-for-29 for 210 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Wades' World
D'Montre Wade and Zachary Wade led the MSU defense with nine tackle each on Saturday night. D'Montre also added five pass breakups on the night, while Zachary had a fumble recovery.

Stratton's Career Day
Landon Stratton began the game with a career-long 78 yard punt and would only build from there. He finished the night with a career-high tying eight punts for a career high 395 yards, placing three punts inside the 20-yard line and having three punts go a distance of 50 yards or more. He also set a new career high for per punt average with 49.4 yards per punt.

Super Mareio
On his first touch of the game, Mareio McGraw carried the ball 68 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with a team-high 78 yards on five carries.

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.