2019 Murray State Racers football team

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]

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 (Capacity: 16,800)
Seasons ← 2018 2020 →

2019 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
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

Previous season

Main article: 2018 Murray State Racers football team

The Racers finished the 2018 season 5–6, 5–3 in OVC play to finish in fourth place.

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

See also: Pikeville Bears football

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

See also: 2019 Georgia Bulldogs football team

At Toledo

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

See also: 2019 Toledo Rockets football team

Morehead State

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

See also: 2019 Morehead State Eagles football team

At UT Martin

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

See also: 2019 UT Martin Skyhawks football team

Eastern Illinois

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

See also: 2019 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

At Tennessee State

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

See also: 2019 Tennessee State Tigers football team

Eastern Kentucky

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

See also: 2019 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

At Jacksonville State

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

See also: 2019 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team

Tennessee Tech

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

See also: 2019 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football team

Austin Peay

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

See also: 2019 Austin Peay Governors football team

At Southeast Missouri State

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

See also: 2019 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football team

References

1. Wells, Adam (November 23, 2019). "Stewart removed as head football coach at Murray State". WPSD Local 6. WPSD. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
2. "Media Pollsters Tab Jacksonville State as 2019 OVC Football Preseason Favorites". ovcsports.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
3. "JSU's Cooper, SEMO's Hall Named 2019 OVC Preseason Football Players of the Year". ovcsports.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
4. "2019 Football Schedule". Murray State University Athletics. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
5. "2019 Murray State Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 9, 2019.