Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Jacksonville State
Players Mentioned
Racers Have Tough Test Saturday at No. 3 JSU
11/1/2017 1:45:00 PM | Football
Date (Time): Nov. 4 (1 p.m.)
Opponent: #3 Jacksonville State
Site (Venue): Jacksonville, Ala. (Burgess-Snow Field)
Audio: Froggy 103.7 FM (PxP: Neal Bradley; Color: Dave Winder)
Web Stream: OVCDigitalNetwork.com
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersFootball, @PGriffithMSU
MSU Record (Streak): 2-6, 1-3 OVC (Lost 2)
JSU Record (Streak): 7-1, 5-0 OVC (Won 6)
All-Time Series vs. JSU (Streak): JSU leads 12-2 (Lost 3)
First Meeting: Won 23-17 OT (Oct. 4, 2003 in Murray, Ky.)
Last Meeting: Lost 15-33 (Nov. 12, 2016 in Murray, Ky.)
MSU Last Game: Lost 13-26 vs. Eastern Kentucky
JSU Last Game: Won 23-7 vs. Southeast Missouri
MSU Next Game: Nov. 11 vs. Tennessee Tech
MSU Next Home Game: Nov. 11 vs. Tennessee Tech
The Game
The Murray State football team begins its final three games of the season Saturday with a trip to Jacksonville State to take on the third-ranked Gamecocks. Kickoff from Burgess-Snow Field in Jacksonville, Alabama is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Saturday's Weather
It will be Chamber of Commerce-type weather in Jacksonville on Saturday with a high of 78 and winds at 5-7 mph. There will be a few clouds in the area, though chances of rain will be low at just 25-precent.
Last Time Out
The Murray State football team shutout Eastern Kentucky in the second half of Saturday's homecoming game at Roy Stewart Stadium, but it was the Colonel's 26 first-half point that allowed them to leave Murray, Kentucky with a 26-13 win. The Colonels put Murray State in a 14-0 hole early and led the Racers 26-6 at halftime. Despite a perfect second half defensively and a late touchdown from Shuler Bentley to Jordon Gandy, it was too little, too late as the Racers dropped their second game in a row.
The Jacksonville State Series
The all-time series with Jacksonville State has not been kind to the Racers, as they have won just two of 14 total meetings. The Racers have won just once in Murray, in the first game between the two teams in 2003, and once in Jacksonville, the last MSU win in the series which was a triple OT thriller in 2013.
Scouting The Gamecocks
The third-ranked Gamecocks pulled away late from Southeast Missouri and picked up a 23-7 win to improve to 7-1 in overall and 5-0 in the OVC. Running back Roc Thomas and kicker Cade Stinnett received weekly accolades from the OVC for the performance in the game. Thomas rushed for 92 yards and picked up an additional 59 receiving, while Stinnett kicked a career-best three field goals. The Gamecocks enter the game with the nation's fourth best defense that allows just 15.9 points on 263.8 yards per game, while the offense scores 28.8 points per game on 371.4 yards. The JSU offense currently leans run with 202.5 yards on the ground and 168.9 yards in the air per game. Thomas currently averages 87.0 yards per game rushing for Jax State with seven touchdowns and 6.0 yards per carry. In the air, Bryant Horne is 68-for-125 with seven touchdowns and six interceptions and is averaging 118.0 yards per game. Defensively, Darius Jackson currently leads the nation in tackles-for-loss at 1.9 per game for a total of 15.5 for a loss of 81 yards. In addition, Jackson has 40 total tackles, 4.0 sacks and a two forced fumbles. Marlon Bridges and Jonathan Hagler have also been vital to the JSU defense this year with, 59 and 53 tackles, respectively, and two interceptions each.
Almost Automatic
The Racers currently lead the nation in red zone offense, scoring in 18 of 19 trips for 94.7-percent. In addition, MSU has been successful in each of its last 12 trips to the red zone.
Chasing D'Montre
With his interception against EKU, D'Montre Wade now leads the nation in interceptions per game at 0.7 for five total. Wade is now a 15-way tie for eighth place in the MSU single-season record book. With one more pick, he will have accomplished a feat that has been done just seven times in the 92-year history of MSU football and that is intercept six or more passes in a single-season.
Leader Of The Pack
Shuler Bentley currently leads the OVC in several different passing categories including completion percentage (61.6), completions per game (22.5), passing yards per game (218.7) and points responsible for per game (10.0). He is also currently second in passing touchdowns (9) and fourth in passing yards (1,312).
OK, What's Next?
The Racers return home for the final time in 2017 next Saturday to take on Tennessee Tech. Kickoff for the season finale at The Track is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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