Racers Host Salukis On Homecoming Saturday

Game-6
Southern Illinois at Murray State
Oct. 14, 2023 - 2:00 p.m. CT
Murray, Ky. - Roy Stewart Stadium (16,800)

Murray State Record: 2-3 (2-0 H, 0-3 A) Missouri Valley: 1-1
Next Away: Missouri State (Oct. 21) Next Home: Southern Illinois (Oct. 14)
Head Coach: Dean Hood (Ohio Wesleyan, 1986) Record: 70-57 (12th season) at MUR: 15-19 (4th season)
vs SIU: 0-0

(#13) Southern Illinois: 4-1 (2-0, 2-1 A) Missouri Valley: 1-1
Next Home: South Dakota State (Oct. 21) Next Away: Western Illinois (Oct. 28)
Head Coach: Nick Hill (Southern Illinois, 2008) Record: 40-44 (8th season) at SIU: Same
vs MUR: 2-0

Game Day Storylines

The Racers are 1-1 in their first two games in the MVFC after a home win over Indiana State (30-28) - road loss (38-7) at South Dakota.
Southern Illinois 1-1 in league play - home win (33-20) over Missouri State and road loss (31-3) at Youngstown State.
South Dakota, South Dakota State and UNI are on top of the MVFC at 2-0. There are six teams at 1-1.
MSU and SIU meet 23rd time - series tied 10-10-2. First meeting was 96 years ago in 1927, a MSU 6-3 victory.
SIU has won the last three: 2003 & 2016 in Carbondale and 2018 in Murray. MSU last win vs SIU was in Murray in 2002.
MSU is 52-34 (.604) all-time in homecoming and once had a 10-game winning streak from 1971-80.
A year ago, the Racers drew more than 15,000 to homecoming as they defeated Tennessee State 19-3.
Coach Dean Hood is 1-1 in his MSU homecoming games.
Hood is facing Southern Illinois for the first time.
MSU's at South Dakota was their shortest game of the season -2hrs-47min. Their longest was against Louisville of 3hrs-26min.
The Racers have had worn five different uniform combinations in the first five games.
As the Racers join best FCS conference, they were picked No. 11 in the MVFC Preseason Poll. SIU was picked No. 5.
The Racers have dropped their nine games against ranked FCS teams.
MSU's last win against a ranked team was against SEMO during the Covid spring games 24-21 on the road (March 28, 2021).
DJ Williams' run of consecutive passing attempts without an interception ended at 140 with an interception at 5:36 of the fourth quarter at South Dakota.
The Racers have given up a 100-yard rusher in each of the last four games vs UL, MTSU, INST and USD.

Homecoming History
The first known homecoming game was in 1931 under Coach Ray Morgan when the Racers defeated Middle Tennessee 13-7. The Racers are
6-4 in homecoming games since 2010, with the 2020 homecoming lost to Covid. Coach Dean Hood is 1-1 in his homecoming games. In facing Southern Illinois for homecoming for the first time, the last time the Racers played a team that was ranked was a 42-15 loss in 2019 to No. 5 Jacksonville State. The Racers are 52-34 (.604) all-time in homecoming and once had a 10-game winning streak on this special day from 1971-80. A year ago, the Racers drew more than 15,000 to homecoming as they defeated Tennessee State 19-3.

A Murray State Victory. . .

Gives the Racers their 503rd win in their 1006th game.
Gives MSU a win over Southern Illinois for the first time since 2002 which was a 42-24 win in Murray.
Gives MSU their fifth-straight win at Roy Stewart Stadium with wins over Tennessee State and Robert Morris in 2022, plus three wins at home in 2023.
Gives MSU their first win over a ranked team since a victory at home over Eastern Illinois 20-13 on March 28, 2021.
Gives Coach Dean Hood his 71st win of his 12-year head coaching career and his 16th win in his fourth season at Murray State.

Racers Drop First MVFC Game at USD
The Murray State Racers took to the road for the first time in conference play (OCt. 7) in a 38-7 loss to the South Dakota Coyotes at DakotaDome in Vermillion.
MSU trailed 14-0 when DJ Williams hit Q'Daryius Jennings on a 56-yard scoring pass to make it a 14-7 game with 10:02 before half. The Racers trailed 21-7 at the halftime intermission. The Racers were driving to make a one-score game late in the third quarter when Williams connected with Jawaun Northington on a pass play that was a certain touchdown. However, Northington was stopped by a pair of Coyote defenders that caused a fumble that USD recovered in the end zone. The Coyotes drove into the fourth quarter and took a 24-7 lead with a field goal with 13:48 remaining.

The Run Game – Basic Nutrition for MVFC
The ability to run the football is a major emphasis among teams in the MVFC. The Racers have shown flashes of being able to be effective on the ground. Their best game against a quality opponent, Middle Tennessee, yielded 136 yards from Cortezz Jones, as the Racers racked up 207 yards for 5.4 yards per rush. Jones is sixth in the MVFC with 5.8 yards per rush. The league leader is Illinois State's Mason Blakemore (8.7) and South Dakota State's Isaiah Davis (8.1). In rushing yards per game, Jones is fifth (59.2), while Davis is first (98.2). Additionally, Jones is seventh with 51 rushing attempts. The league leader is South Dakota's Travis Theis (85).
The Racers haven't been able to sustain a rush game as they rank seventh in the league at 151.4 yards per game, but they are ahead of Indiana State, UNI, Missouri State, SIU and WIU. Last week, South Dakota State (374), South Dakota (263), North Dakota State (258) and North Dakota (224) all were winners and ran well. Murray State led the teams that were on the losing end with 125 yards against SDU. Indiana State, Missouri State, WIU and SIU were all held below 100 yards.
The Racers have given four 100-yard rushers this season including: Louisville's Jawhar Jordan (135yds), Jaiden Credle (132yds) of MTSU, Indiana State's Plez Lawrence (203yds) and South Dakota's Travis Theis (190yds).

Williams' No-INT Streak Ends at USD
DJ Williams' run of consecutive passing attempts without an interception ended at 140 with an interception at 5:36 of the fourth quarter at South Dakota. It's the best streak for the Racers since Shuler Bentley went 202 passes between the 2017-18 seasons. Here's a look at the top streaks by MSU quarterbacks since 2015.

Walker & Walker – Tackles Inc.
MSU's Nick Walker is 15th in the MVFC with 6.4 tackles per game, while Kanyon Walker is 24th at 5.8. Nick's season-high was at MTSU (8) and Kanyon's best was 10 also vs MTSU. The Walker tandem have combined for 61 of MSU's 318 tackles in the five games of 2023. MSU's Caldra Williford leads the Racers in solo tackles with 24, while Justus Johnson is second (21).

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Players Mentioned

Shuler Bentley

Q'Daryius Jennings

Justus Johnson

Cortezz Jones

Jawaun Northington

Kanyon Walker

Nick Walker

DJ Williams

Caldra Williford

Murray State University Athletics