Racers Meet Coyotes In First MVFC Road Test

Saturday, October 7

Vermillion, S.D.

2 p.m.

Murray State

South Dakota

Photo by: Jesse Ordunez

10/3/2023 8:42:00 PM | Football

Live Links Digital Press Box Racers Poadcast Central

The Racers and South Dakota meet for the first time Saturday in Vermillion

Game-5
Oct. 7, 2023 - 2:00 p.m. CT
Vermillion, S.D - The DakotaDome (9,100)

Murray State Record: 2-2 (2-0 H, 0-2 A) Missouri Valley: 1-0
Next Away: Missouri State (Oct. 21) Next Home: Southern Illinois (Oct. 14)
Head Coach: Dean Hood (Ohio Wesleyan, 1986) Record: 70-56 (12th season) at MUR: 15-18 (4th season)
vs USD: 0-0

(#15) South Dakota Record: 3-1 (3-0, 0-1 A) Missouri Valley: 1-0
Next Home: Youngstown State (Oct. 14) Next Away: Southern Illinois (Nov. 4)
Head Coach: Bob Nielson (Wartburg, 1982) Record: 19-40221-123-1 (31st season) at USD: 35-43 (8th season)
vs MUR: 0-0

Game Day Storylines

The Racers meet South Dakota for the first time on the football field and just the second time in any sport.
The Racers and Coyotes played softball in Florida in the spring of 2019.
MSU's MVFC inaugural game was a winner (30-28) over Indiana State on Murray State Family Weekend.
The 15th largest crowd in Roy Stewart Stadium watched (13,213) as the Racers pushed their home win streak to four.
The Racers had two defensive scores that ended up being the difference in the game.
The first drive for the Sycamores ended with MSU's Caldra Williford sacking QB Cade Chambers for a safety.
On the first drive of the third quarter, MSU's CJ Barnes batted a pass into the air. It was intercepted by Chris Hill, Jr., and returned 32 yard for a touchdown, the Racers' first pick-6 since 2021.
QB DJ Williams threw for 157yds (11-17) and rushed for 21 yards.
Williams has a run of 118-straight passing attempts without an interception going into the South Dakota game.
His last interception was against Southeast Missouri (Nov. 13, 2021)
As the Racers join the best FCS conference in the USA, they were picked No. 11 in the MVFC Preseason Poll.
After USD's 24-19 win at North Dakota State, the MVFC has nine of its 12 programs in the Top 27 of the Sagarin Ratings, including seven of the Top 14 (five of the Top 9, and three of the Top 4) among FCS programs.
The Racers are facing the 15th ranked Coyotes, marking their first game against a ranked opponent since the final game of 2022 at Southeast Missouri (Nov. 19, 2022).
The Racers have dropped their seven 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 7, 2021).

MSU Wins Inaugural MVFC Game
The Murray State Racers defeated the Indiana State Sycamores 30-28 Saturday in their first Missouri Valley Football Conference game at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky. The victory for the Racers (2-2) came in front of a crowd of 13,213, the 15th largest in Stewart Stadium history and the largest in the history of MSU Family Weekend. The Racers began the game by scoring a safety by Caldra Williford and ended it with putting the game away with a 37-yard scoring pass from DJ Williams to Cole Rusk. Chris Hill, Jr. gave the MSU defense another big play when he grabbed a batted pass by CJ Barnes and took it 32 yards for a touchdown to start the second half. Murray State becomes the eighth MVFC team to play its first conference game after the league's inaugural season in 1985.

Phillips Named MVFC Specialist of the Week
Orion Phillips became the first Racer to win one of the MVFC weekly awards when he was named the league's Special Teams Player of the Week. The freshman from Australia continued his impressive rookie campaign with a big performance against Indiana State. Phillips booted five punts, totaling 229 yards for a 45.8-yard average including a massive 67-yard effort that would be downed at the one-yard line. The 67-yard boot was the second-longest punt in the MVFC in 2023, falling just short of the 71-yard mark set by Illinois State earlier this season. Phillips placed four of his five punts inside the 20-yard line. The MSU record for the longest punt is 90 yards in 2002 by Brian Bivens against Southeast Missouri. This season, the freshman has 580 punt yards with four punts over the 50-yard mark. His 44.6-yard average ranks him within the top 15 in FCS competition.

Racers Look For Road Success
Since 2015, the Racers are 12-34 on the road which includes a mark of 12-22 against FCS opponents. MSU's last road win came on Nov. 20, 2021 at Eastern Illinois by a score of 20-13. MSU has lost their last eight away from home.