2019 Murray State Racers football team

American college football season

2019 Murray State Racers football

Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	4–8 (2–6 OVC)
Head coach	Mitch Stewart (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Nick Coleman (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Jake Johnson (2nd season)
Home stadium	Roy Stewart Stadium
Seasons ← 2018 2020 →

2019 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 Austin Peay +^	7	–	1	9	–	3
No. 17 Southeast Missouri State +^	7	–	1	9	–	3
UT Martin	6	–	2	7	–	5
Eastern Kentucky	5	–	3	7	–	5
Tennessee Tech	3	–	5	6	–	6
Jacksonville State	3	–	5	6	–	6
Murray State	2	–	6	4	–	8
Tennessee State	2	–	6	3	–	9
Eastern Illinois	1	–	7	1	–	11

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2019 Murray State Racers football team represented Murray State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Mitch Stewart and played their home games at Roy Stewart Stadium. They were members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 2–6 in OVC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. Stewart was reassigned to a new position within the athletic department following the season, he finished with a record of 19–37.^[1]

Preseason

Preseason coaches' poll

The OVC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 22, 2019. The Racers were picked to finish in seventh place.^[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Jacksonville State	135 (15)
2	Southeast Missouri State	115
3	Eastern Kentucky	99
4	Austin Peay	84
5	Tennessee State	75
6	UT Martin	58
7	Murray State	55
8	Eastern Illinois	38
9	Tennessee Tech	16

Preseason All-OVC team

The Racers had three players selected to the preseason all-OVC team.^[3]

Special teams

Gabriel Vicente – K

Steve Dawson – P

Malik Honeycutt – RS

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	6:00 p.m.	Pikeville*	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 59–20	6,829
September 7	3:00 p.m.	at No. 3 (FBS) Georgia*	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	ESPN2	L 17–63	92,746
September 14	6:00 p.m.	at Toledo*	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPN3	L 0–45	25,361
September 21	6:00 p.m.	Morehead State*	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 59–7	11,921
September 28	6:00 p.m.	at UT Martin	Graham Stadium Martin, TN	ESPN+	L 7–40	4,612
October 5	1:00 p.m.	Eastern Illinois	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 24–17	4,205
October 12	2:00 p.m.	at Tennessee State	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN+	W 31–17	5.324
October 19	2:00 p.m.	Eastern Kentucky	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 27–34	9,029
October 26	3:00 p.m.	at No. 25 Jacksonville State	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN3	L 12–14	10,786
November 2	1:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 7–17	5,302
November 16	12:00 p.m.	No. 22 Austin Peay	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN3	L 7–42
November 23	1:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Southeast Missouri State	Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO	ESPN+	L 24–31
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[4]^[5]

Game summaries

Pikeville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	3	14	3	0	20
Racers	17	14	14	14	59

Week 2: at #3 Georgia

Week 2: Murray State Racers at #3 Georgia Bulldogs

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Murray State	7	0	10	0	17
#3 Georgia	7	35	7	14	63

at Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia

Date: September 7, 2019
Game time: 4:00 pm
Game attendance: 92,746
TV announcers (ESPN2): Rocky Boiman, Anthony Becht and Beth Mowins
Recap, Box Score

Game information

First quarter

UGA –D'Andre Swift 3-yard run (Rodrigo Blankenship kick), 13:37. #3 Georgia 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 56 yards, 1:23.
MURR – Daquon Green 60-yard pass from Preston Rice (Gabriel Vincente kick), 6:36. Tied 7–7. Drive: 3 plays, 72 yards, 1:26.

Second quarter

UGA – Brian Herrien 2-yard run (Rodrigo Blankenship kick), 14:24. #3 Georgia 14–7. Drive: 7 plays, 78 yards, 2:38.
UGA – J.R. Reed 14-yard fumble return (Rodrigo Blankenship kick), 13:51. #3 Georgia 21–7.
UGA – D'Andre Swift 10-yard run (Rodrigo Blankenship kick), 9:07. #3 Georgia 28–7. Drive: 4 plays, 41 yards, 2:18.
UGA – George Pickens 15-yard pass from Jake Fromm (Rodrigo Blankenship kick), 6:11. #3 Georgia 35–7. Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards, 0:46.
UGA – Zamir White 6-yard run (Rodrigo Blankenship kick), 2:11. #3 Georgia 42–7. Drive: 4 plays, 36 yards, 1:34.

Third quarter

MURR – Nigel Walton 35-yard interception return (Gabriel Vincente kick), 9:33. #3 Georgia 42–14.
UGA – Demetris Robertson 15-yard pass from Stetson Bennett (Rodrigo Blankenship kick), 5:22. #3 Georgia 49–14. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:11.
MURR – Gabriel Vincente 26-yard field goal, 1:18. #3 Georgia 49–17. Drive: 10 plays, 66 yards, 4:04.

Fourth quarter

UGA – Dominick Blaylock 25-yard pass from Stetson Bennett (Rodrigo Blankenship kick), 10:49. #3 Georgia 56–17. Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 5:29.
UGA – Stetson Bennett 1-yard run (Rodrigo Blankenship kick), 7:42. #3 Georgia 63–17. Drive: 3 plays, 30 yards, 1:27.

Top passers

MURR – Preston Rice – 20/25, 216 yards, TD
UGA – Jake Fromm – 10/11, 166 yards, TD

Top rushers

MURR – Rodney Castille – 5 rushes, 8 yards
UGA – Zamir White – 8 rushes, 72 yards, TD

Top receivers

MURR – Daquon Green – 5 receptions, 101 yards, TD
UGA – George Pickens – 4 receptions, 78 yards, TD

At Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Racers	0	0	0	0	0
Rockets	3	14	21	7	45

Morehead State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	7	0	7
Racers	14	17	21	7	59

At UT Martin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Racers	0	7	0	0	7
Skyhawks	14	10	3	13	40

Eastern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	7	3	7	17
Racers	7	2	7	8	24

At Tennessee State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Racers	7	14	0	10	31
Tigers	7	3	0	7	17

Eastern Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	7	10	17	0	34
Racers	3	7	7	10	27

At Jacksonville State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Racers	0	0	7	5	12
No. 25 Gamecocks	7	7	0	0	14

Tennessee Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	3	7	7	0	17
Racers	7	0	0	0	7

Austin Peay

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Governors	7	7	7	21	42
Racers	0	0	7	0	7

At Southeast Missouri State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Racers	7	17	0	0	24
No. 13 Redhawks	3	14	0	14	31

References

^ Wells, Adam (November 23, 2019). "Stewart removed as head football coach at Murray State". WPSD Local 6. WPSD. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
^ "Media Pollsters Tab Jacksonville State as 2019 OVC Football Preseason Favorites". ovcsports.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
^ "JSU's Cooper, SEMO's Hall Named 2019 OVC Preseason Football Players of the Year". ovcsports.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
^ "2019 Football Schedule". Murray State University Athletics. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
^ "2019 Murray State Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 9, 2019.

v t e Murray State Racers football
Venues	Roy Stewart Stadium (1973–present)
Bowls & rivalries	1949 Tangerine Bowl Western Kentucky: Battle for the Red Belt
Culture & lore	Racer One Dunker "Fight Song" "The Old Gray Mare" Racer Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
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