Murray State Racers (1-1, 0-0 OVC)
at Missouri State Bears (0-2, 0-0 MVFC)
Saturday, September 16 • 2:00 p.m. CT
Robert W. Plaster Stadium (17,500) • Springfield, Mo.
TV:........................................................................ KOZL
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/missouristate/football/media
Series Record:............................... Murray State leads 7-2
Last Meeting:............... Missouri State won 28-22 (9/10/16)
Mitch Stewart at Murray State:....................... 8-16 (3 yrs.)
Mitch Stewart Overall:.............................................. same
Dave Steckel at Missouri State:...................... 5-19 (3 yrs.)
Dave Steckel Overall:.............................................. same
Murray State Last Week: L, 41-13 vs. #15 Central Arkansas
Missouri State Last Week:...... L, 34-0 at #11 North Dakota
GAME NOTES: Murray State will travel to Missouri State as the teams meet for the
second-straight season and 10th time overall. The teams played annually from
1982-85 and then did not play again until 2009 in Springfield, where Missouri
State claimed its first series victory. After the Racers won three in a row, the
Bears pulled off a victory in last year’s meeting. In that matchup Missouri
State led from start-to-finish in pulling out the 28-22 win. The two teams
combined for 897 yards of total of offense with KD Humphries passing for 356
yards and a touchdown for the Racers while Demetric Johnson rushed for 68 yards.
The Bears were led by Breck Ruddick who passed for 295 yards and three scores
and Calan Crowder rushed for 97 yards and a score. Dylan Cole, now a member of
the Houston Texans, had 14 tackles for Missouri State.
SCOUTING MURRAY STATE: Playing its second-straight home game to open the season,
Murray State dropped a 41-13 decision to No. 15 ranked Central Arkansas. UCA
scored 24 unanswered points to open the game and finished the contest with 486
yards of total offense. The Racers were led by Shuler Bentley who passed for 232
yards and a touchdown, but who was sacked four times. Freshman D.J. Penick
carried the ball 18 times for 74 yards and is averaging 72.0 yards/game over his
first two career games. Jordon Gandy hauled in five passes for 74 yards and
currently ranks fourth nationally in receiving touchdowns (3) and 20th in
scoring (9.0 points/game). Marquez Sanford picked off a pass and had five
tackles in the game. As a team Murray State currently ranks third nationally
with five interceptions in 2017. Junior newcomer Gabriel Vicente is now 3-for-3
on field goal attempts to start the season after connecting from 38 and 42 yards
against UCA.
SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE: Missouri State’s schedule has included a 72-43 loss to
Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foe Missouri and a 34-0 blanking against the No.
11 ranked FCS squad North Dakota. In the season-opener against Mizzou, the Bears
racked up 492 yards of total offense and scored 35 first half points in the high
scoring game. Newcomer Peyton Huslig completed 24-of-35 passes for 352 yards and
two touchdowns (the highest single-game total for the program in five years)
while Calan Crowder rushed for 124 yards and two scores. Huslig followed that
performance with 132 passing yards against UND while Crowder added 63 rushing
yards on 10 carries. Through two games Malik Earl is the team’s top receiver,
hauling in eight passes for 163 yards while Erik Furmanek has caught six passes
for 152 yards. Titus Wall currently leads the team with 14 tackles.