Murray State University Athletics
Thursday, September 7
Louisville, Ky.
6:30 p.m.
Murray State
at
Louisville
Photo by: David Eaton-Murray State Athletics
Commonwealth Clash - Racers Take On Cardinals Thursday
9/5/2023 9:30:00 AM | Football
Murray State meets Louisville for the 21st time and the first since 2017 Thursday at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium
Game - 2
Murray State at Louisville
Sept. 7, 2023 - 6:30 p.m. CT -Â
Louisville, Ky. - Roy Stewart Stadium (16,800)
Murray State Racers - Record: 1-0 (1-0 home, 0-0 away)
Missouri Valley:Â 0-0
Next Game: at Middle Tennessee (Sept. 16) Next Home: vs Indiana State (Sept. 30)
Head Coach: Dean Hood (Ohio Wesleyan, 1986) Record: 68-54 (12th season) at MUR: 14-16 (4th season)
vs Presbyterian: Â 0-0
Louisville Cardinals - Record: 1-0 (0-0 home, 0-0 away, neutral 1-0)
Atlantic Coast: 1-0
Next Game: Indiana (Sept. 16, Neutral at Indy)
Next Home:Â Boston College (Sept. 23)
Head Coach: Jeff Brohm (Louisville, 1994)
Record: 67-44 (10th season) at UL: 1-0 (1st season)
vs Murray State: 0-0
GAME DAY STORYLINES
The Murray State University Alumni Association is hosting a tailgate in Louisville as the Racers take on the Cardinals. Look for the Racer Alumni flags, large tents, tables and chairs set up in the "Boy Scout lot," just one block east ofL&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, at 111 Central Avenue. Swag, free food (while it lasts) and a cash bar!Â
Opening Night Winner & On To Louisville
The Racers opened the 2023 campaign and their 99th season with a resounding 41-10 victory over the Presbyterian Blue Hose in front of a crowd of 6,953 at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky (Sept 2).
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Taylor Shields caught a pair of touchdown passes and the Racers scored the game's final 31 points to break open a contest that was tied 10-10 with 4:03 before halftime. Six MSU running backs combined for 231 yards on 44 carries for an average of 5.3 yards per run. Q'Daryius Jennings (9-50yds), Kylan Galbreath (3-47yds) and Jawaun Northington (11-40yds) led the way for MSU. Galbreath's 39-yard touchdown scamper was his first as a Racer.The Racers racked up 484 yards of total offense, while checking Presbyterian to 196.
The Racers trail 14-6 in the all-time series with the Cardinals. Their 1949 meeting was as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The last time the two met in Murray was a Cardinals win 7-6 in 1956. 2023 marks the first time they have meet since 2017.
Remembering 1984 & the FBS Challenge
Murray State's last win against an FBS team was against Louisville in 1984. The 26-23 upset win was delivered by a Kevin Sisk to Bill Bird screen pass that went 75-yards for a touchdown with 27 seconds remaining. Ralph Robinson's interception with seconds remaining sealed the win for the Racers and head coach Frank Beamer. Murray State also defeated Louisville in 1980 by a 13-9 score when Mike Gottfried was the Racers' head coach.Â
Since the 1984 upset, the Racers haven't been able to climb the mountain that all FCS teams attempt against an FBS opponent. Since then, the Racers have tried against the likes of Wisconsin and Heisman winner Ron Dane in 1999 and Eli Manning at Ole Miss in 2001. The Racers have also taken on the likes of UConn, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Memphis, Missouri and NC State, but have not come out the winner in 35 tries.
In the last two seasons, there have been just 20 wins for an FCS team over an FBS team, including Murray State's colleagues in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Southern Illinois defeated Northwestern 31-24 in 2022 and South Dakota State beat Colorado State 42-33 in 2021.Â
Going back 91 years when the college game was in its infancy, you'll find the odd record book entry of Murray State's 105-0 win over Louisville in 1932. A mystery as very few accounts of it can be found, much less any context to what the teams were like. The Courier Journal headline read "Murray Gallops With Little Restraint..." and the Paducah Sun "Murray Swamps University of Louisville..." News accounts provided the Racers outgained the Cardinals 725 yards to minus-14. It's a small note in the history of the Racers and Cardinals that dates back to their first meeting in 1927, a 14-0 for the Cardinals.
The last time the two met in Murray was a Cardinals win 7-6 in 1956. 2023 marks the first time they have meet since 2017.
Coach Dean Hood has faced UL twice in his career, both at Eastern Kentucky. In 2010, a 23-13 loss and in 2013, Â a 44-7 defeat.
2017 Racers & Cardinals
The last time the Racers faced Louisville was in 2017, a 55-10 win for the 17th-ranked Cardinals. The Racers faced reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson who passed for 249 yards and rushed for 100. MSU's Zachary Wade led MSU with a game-high 11 tackles and a fumble recovery. MSU's only touchdown came in the third quarter on a fumble recovery by Jason Johnson.
2023 MSU Roster Breakdown
Six Missouri Valley Football Conference teams are ranked in this week's Stats Perform Top 25 FCS poll, as Southern Illinois (24) and Youngstown State (25) joined previously ranked MVFC teams SDSU (1), NDSU (2), UNI (17) and UNI (21) in the poll. Missouri Valley programs Southern Illinois (49-23 over Austin Peay) and Youngstown State (52-10 over Valparaiso) also moved into the poll at No. 24 and 25, respectively. Top-ranked South Dakota State, the defending FCS champion, lost one first-place vote to North Dakota State.Â
A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
MVFC Preseason Notes
Founded in 1985, the Missouri Valley Football Conference has shaped itself into the nation's premier NCAA FCS conference. In the 2023 lineup of the MVFC features 11 teams, as the Racers are coming into the league, while Western Illinois is leaving for the Ohio Valley Conference. For the first time in MVFC, six teams earned bids into the 24-team FCS playoff field in 2021.  The MVFC has received as many as five bids four times previously (2014, 2015, 2017, and in Spring 2021). SDSU & NDSU are No. 1 and 2 in the Stats Perform Preseason  Top-25. These two occupied the top two spots eight weeks in 2022. NDSU was No. 1 for seven of those weeks.
2023 marks the 50th time in league history that two MVFC teams held two of the top-3 slots in a national poll.
MSU's Aussie Connection
The Racers have had two punters from Australia previously (Steve Dawson 2018-20) and Lewis Halton (2020-22), and now MSU has Max Duffy, their first GA from Australia. Duffy was an All-American punter at Kentucky and the Wildcats' all-time leading punter with a 46.0-yard career average. He is a GA and handling the Racers team video operation. Orion Phillips is a freshman on the MSU roster. in 2023 and hails from Sandringham, Australia and will be MSU's starting punter right off the get go as a freshman.
MSU Healthy At Quarterback
IN 2022, The Racers lost QB DJ Williams at the end of the first half at Texas Tech in the season opener. Jayden Stinston largely filled in for Williams and he was coming off a broken foot over the summer while doing yard work. Fast forward to 2023 and not only are Williams and Stinson healthy, Eric Phoenix has been added to the mix at signal caller.Â
Williams is two years removed from a 2021 season in which he was the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year on 1,020 yards passing, 532 yards rushing and accounting for nine touchdowns. Stinson made eight starts and threw for 1,385 yards. Phoenix joins the Racers after leading his team to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in 2022 at Benedict College. Phoenix threw for 4,400 yards with 32 touchdowns in three seasons with the Tigers.
Living the Football Life
We have often heard the phrase of coaches who live the life of their sport and that is certainly the case for the Murray State coaching staff.
Leading the way is Coach Dean Hood who finished his career as a Hall of Fame player at Ohio Wesleyan in 1985. In his 41st season in the game, Hood has been a head coach and assistant at the likes of Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky, Ohio and Charlotte.
Charlie Skalaski, MSU's Chief of Staff, has been around the game for nearly 50 seasons with a brief break in private business. Bruce Tall is MSU's Co-Defensive Coordinator and started his coaching career in the early 1980's after being a teammate with Hood at Ohio Wesleyan.
Murray State assistants, Yon Boone, Darius Hart, Ben Hodges and Dillon Sanders have been with Coach Hood in all of his four seasons at Murray State.
The Concrete Cathedral - Roy Stewart Stadium
After averaging 8,375 fans in five home games in 2022, the Racers and their fans are looking forward to hosting four MVFC games at Stewart Stadium in 2023. MSU's attendance a year ago was their best average since 1998. The Racers host Indiana State (Sept. 30) in their inaugural MVFC game on MSU Family Weekend, where a special commemorative coin will be given out at the gates on the big night. MSU also welcomes Southern Illinois (Oct. 14) on Homecoming, marking the Salukis first visit to Murray since 2018.
MSU's opening night crowd of just shy of 7,000 was very good considering many of the students were out of town with the Labor Day three-day weekend.
Coach Dean Hood is 9-5 at Stewart Stadium. Frank Beamer is MSU's all-time leader in wins with 25 from 1981-86. Beamer's teams were 27-7-1 (.772) in six seasons at Stewart Stadium.
Murray State at Louisville
Sept. 7, 2023 - 6:30 p.m. CT -Â
Louisville, Ky. - Roy Stewart Stadium (16,800)
Murray State Racers - Record: 1-0 (1-0 home, 0-0 away)
Missouri Valley:Â 0-0
Next Game: at Middle Tennessee (Sept. 16) Next Home: vs Indiana State (Sept. 30)
Head Coach: Dean Hood (Ohio Wesleyan, 1986) Record: 68-54 (12th season) at MUR: 14-16 (4th season)
vs Presbyterian: Â 0-0
Louisville Cardinals - Record: 1-0 (0-0 home, 0-0 away, neutral 1-0)
Atlantic Coast: 1-0
Next Game: Indiana (Sept. 16, Neutral at Indy)
Next Home:Â Boston College (Sept. 23)
Head Coach: Jeff Brohm (Louisville, 1994)
Record: 67-44 (10th season) at UL: 1-0 (1st season)
vs Murray State: 0-0
GAME DAY STORYLINES
- The Racers opened the season Saturday with a 41-10 win over Presbyterian at home as they celebrated their 1000th game played in program history.
- MSU is in its 99th season of collegiate football and they are a new member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
- This game marks the Racers and Cardinals first meeting since 2017Â and the 21st overall since their first meeting occurred in 1927.
- The Cardinals have won the last six meetings in 1987, 1990, 2007, 2011, 2014 and 2017.
- Murray State's last win over an FBS team was against Louisville in 1984 at old Cardinal Stadium at the fairgrounds.
- The 1984 season was Coach Frank Beamer's fourth of six seasons at MSU, before he went to Virginia Tech (1987-2015) and became a College Football Hall of Famer in 2018.
- Murray State Coach Dean Hood is 0-2 vs UL (both losses) with both games coming when he was head coach at Eastern Kentucky in 2010 & 2013.
- Vs Presbyterian, QBs DJ Williams, Eric PHOENIX, combined for 14-24 passing for 253 yards and two touchdowns.
- The Racers stable of six running backs combined for 231 yards rushing on 44 attempts for a per carry average of 5.3yds.
- WR Taylor Shields caught two passes, each for touchdowns of 18 and 51 yards.
- Rising sophomore LB Nick Walker led the Racers with seven tackles (6 solo) including two tackles for loss and one sack.
- Walker and Shields were nominated for MVFC weekly honors.
- Next week's game-3 takes the Racers to Middle Tennessee for a meeting with their former Ohio Valley Conference foe.
- MSU's MVFC inaugural game is at home (Sept. 30) against Indiana State.
- The Racers were picked No. 11 in the MVFC Preseason Poll. South Dakota State and North Dakota State were No. 1 & No. 2.
The Murray State University Alumni Association is hosting a tailgate in Louisville as the Racers take on the Cardinals. Look for the Racer Alumni flags, large tents, tables and chairs set up in the "Boy Scout lot," just one block east ofL&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, at 111 Central Avenue. Swag, free food (while it lasts) and a cash bar!Â
Opening Night Winner & On To Louisville
The Racers opened the 2023 campaign and their 99th season with a resounding 41-10 victory over the Presbyterian Blue Hose in front of a crowd of 6,953 at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky (Sept 2).
Â
Taylor Shields caught a pair of touchdown passes and the Racers scored the game's final 31 points to break open a contest that was tied 10-10 with 4:03 before halftime. Six MSU running backs combined for 231 yards on 44 carries for an average of 5.3 yards per run. Q'Daryius Jennings (9-50yds), Kylan Galbreath (3-47yds) and Jawaun Northington (11-40yds) led the way for MSU. Galbreath's 39-yard touchdown scamper was his first as a Racer.The Racers racked up 484 yards of total offense, while checking Presbyterian to 196.
The Racers trail 14-6 in the all-time series with the Cardinals. Their 1949 meeting was as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The last time the two met in Murray was a Cardinals win 7-6 in 1956. 2023 marks the first time they have meet since 2017.
Remembering 1984 & the FBS Challenge
Murray State's last win against an FBS team was against Louisville in 1984. The 26-23 upset win was delivered by a Kevin Sisk to Bill Bird screen pass that went 75-yards for a touchdown with 27 seconds remaining. Ralph Robinson's interception with seconds remaining sealed the win for the Racers and head coach Frank Beamer. Murray State also defeated Louisville in 1980 by a 13-9 score when Mike Gottfried was the Racers' head coach.Â
Since the 1984 upset, the Racers haven't been able to climb the mountain that all FCS teams attempt against an FBS opponent. Since then, the Racers have tried against the likes of Wisconsin and Heisman winner Ron Dane in 1999 and Eli Manning at Ole Miss in 2001. The Racers have also taken on the likes of UConn, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Memphis, Missouri and NC State, but have not come out the winner in 35 tries.
In the last two seasons, there have been just 20 wins for an FCS team over an FBS team, including Murray State's colleagues in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Southern Illinois defeated Northwestern 31-24 in 2022 and South Dakota State beat Colorado State 42-33 in 2021.Â
Going back 91 years when the college game was in its infancy, you'll find the odd record book entry of Murray State's 105-0 win over Louisville in 1932. A mystery as very few accounts of it can be found, much less any context to what the teams were like. The Courier Journal headline read "Murray Gallops With Little Restraint..." and the Paducah Sun "Murray Swamps University of Louisville..." News accounts provided the Racers outgained the Cardinals 725 yards to minus-14. It's a small note in the history of the Racers and Cardinals that dates back to their first meeting in 1927, a 14-0 for the Cardinals.
The last time the two met in Murray was a Cardinals win 7-6 in 1956. 2023 marks the first time they have meet since 2017.
Coach Dean Hood has faced UL twice in his career, both at Eastern Kentucky. In 2010, a 23-13 loss and in 2013, Â a 44-7 defeat.
2017 Racers & Cardinals
The last time the Racers faced Louisville was in 2017, a 55-10 win for the 17th-ranked Cardinals. The Racers faced reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson who passed for 249 yards and rushed for 100. MSU's Zachary Wade led MSU with a game-high 11 tackles and a fumble recovery. MSU's only touchdown came in the third quarter on a fumble recovery by Jason Johnson.
2023 MSU Roster Breakdown
- The Racers have a roster that is 106 strong for Coach Dean Hood's fourth season at Murray State.
- MSU has 32 transfers, of which 17 are from NCAA D-I schools.
- MSU has 48 freshmen (true & redshirt) on the roster and 72 underclassmen.
- MSU has 59 returning players from 2022.
- There are players from 18 different states in the USA.
- Kentucky is the most-represented state for the Racers with 20 players, followed by 12 each from Florida and Missouri, 11 from Tennessee and six from Georgia.
- MSU has three international players. Freshman punter, Orion Phillips is from Australia. Senior kicker, Thaigo Kapps hailes from Brazil and Freshman offensive lineman, Ebenezer Bedada, hails from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
- Gives the Racers their 502nd win in their 1002nd game.
- Gives MSU a win over an FBS team for the first time since they defeated Louisville at the old fairgrounds stadium in 1984 under Coach Frank Beamer.
- Gives MSU its first win in their road opener since spring of 2021 when they won at Southeast Missouri State 24-21.
- Gives Coach Dean Hood his 70th win of his 12-year head coaching career and his 15th win his fourth season at Murray State.
Six Missouri Valley Football Conference teams are ranked in this week's Stats Perform Top 25 FCS poll, as Southern Illinois (24) and Youngstown State (25) joined previously ranked MVFC teams SDSU (1), NDSU (2), UNI (17) and UNI (21) in the poll. Missouri Valley programs Southern Illinois (49-23 over Austin Peay) and Youngstown State (52-10 over Valparaiso) also moved into the poll at No. 24 and 25, respectively. Top-ranked South Dakota State, the defending FCS champion, lost one first-place vote to North Dakota State.Â
A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
MVFC Preseason Notes
Founded in 1985, the Missouri Valley Football Conference has shaped itself into the nation's premier NCAA FCS conference. In the 2023 lineup of the MVFC features 11 teams, as the Racers are coming into the league, while Western Illinois is leaving for the Ohio Valley Conference. For the first time in MVFC, six teams earned bids into the 24-team FCS playoff field in 2021.  The MVFC has received as many as five bids four times previously (2014, 2015, 2017, and in Spring 2021). SDSU & NDSU are No. 1 and 2 in the Stats Perform Preseason  Top-25. These two occupied the top two spots eight weeks in 2022. NDSU was No. 1 for seven of those weeks.
2023 marks the 50th time in league history that two MVFC teams held two of the top-3 slots in a national poll.
MSU's Aussie Connection
The Racers have had two punters from Australia previously (Steve Dawson 2018-20) and Lewis Halton (2020-22), and now MSU has Max Duffy, their first GA from Australia. Duffy was an All-American punter at Kentucky and the Wildcats' all-time leading punter with a 46.0-yard career average. He is a GA and handling the Racers team video operation. Orion Phillips is a freshman on the MSU roster. in 2023 and hails from Sandringham, Australia and will be MSU's starting punter right off the get go as a freshman.
MSU Healthy At Quarterback
IN 2022, The Racers lost QB DJ Williams at the end of the first half at Texas Tech in the season opener. Jayden Stinston largely filled in for Williams and he was coming off a broken foot over the summer while doing yard work. Fast forward to 2023 and not only are Williams and Stinson healthy, Eric Phoenix has been added to the mix at signal caller.Â
Williams is two years removed from a 2021 season in which he was the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year on 1,020 yards passing, 532 yards rushing and accounting for nine touchdowns. Stinson made eight starts and threw for 1,385 yards. Phoenix joins the Racers after leading his team to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in 2022 at Benedict College. Phoenix threw for 4,400 yards with 32 touchdowns in three seasons with the Tigers.
Living the Football Life
We have often heard the phrase of coaches who live the life of their sport and that is certainly the case for the Murray State coaching staff.
Leading the way is Coach Dean Hood who finished his career as a Hall of Fame player at Ohio Wesleyan in 1985. In his 41st season in the game, Hood has been a head coach and assistant at the likes of Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky, Ohio and Charlotte.
Charlie Skalaski, MSU's Chief of Staff, has been around the game for nearly 50 seasons with a brief break in private business. Bruce Tall is MSU's Co-Defensive Coordinator and started his coaching career in the early 1980's after being a teammate with Hood at Ohio Wesleyan.
Murray State assistants, Yon Boone, Darius Hart, Ben Hodges and Dillon Sanders have been with Coach Hood in all of his four seasons at Murray State.
The Concrete Cathedral - Roy Stewart Stadium
After averaging 8,375 fans in five home games in 2022, the Racers and their fans are looking forward to hosting four MVFC games at Stewart Stadium in 2023. MSU's attendance a year ago was their best average since 1998. The Racers host Indiana State (Sept. 30) in their inaugural MVFC game on MSU Family Weekend, where a special commemorative coin will be given out at the gates on the big night. MSU also welcomes Southern Illinois (Oct. 14) on Homecoming, marking the Salukis first visit to Murray since 2018.
MSU's opening night crowd of just shy of 7,000 was very good considering many of the students were out of town with the Labor Day three-day weekend.
Coach Dean Hood is 9-5 at Stewart Stadium. Frank Beamer is MSU's all-time leader in wins with 25 from 1981-86. Beamer's teams were 27-7-1 (.772) in six seasons at Stewart Stadium.
Players Mentioned
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QB
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