Offense Comes Alive As Racers Take Down UT Martin

Just The Facts
The Murray State football team notched its first 400-yard offensive game of the year and scored a season-high six touchdowns as it moved to 1-0 in the OVC with a convincing 45-38 win over UT Martin Saturday night at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky.

How It Happened
The Racers struck first Saturday, just three minutes and 10 seconds into the game, on a 37-yard pass from Drew Anderson to DeQuan Dallas to take an early lead that it would never relinquish. The game marked the first wire-to-wire win by the Racers over an FCS opponent since 2015 against Austin Peay.

The Skyhawks had their chances in the game including a first-and-goal from the MSU 10-yard line at the end of the first half that the Racers stopped thanks to a seven yard tackle-for-loss by Kenney Wooten on fourth-and-goal from the two.  In the second half, after having cut the lead to just one score, the Skyhawks looked as if they would get the ball back with over a minute on the clock after forcing the Racers into a third-and-ten situation. However, D.J. Penick stepped up for the Racers and broke off a 32-yard run virtually sealing the game for the Racers.

How It Happened
The Racers struck first Saturday, just three minutes and 10 seconds into the game, on a 37-yard pass from Drew Anderson to DeQuan Dallas to take an early lead that it would never relinquish. The game marked the first wire-to-wire win by the Racers over an FCS opponent since 2015 against Austin Peay.

he Skyhawks had their chances in the game including a first-and-goal from the MSU 10-yard line at the end of the first half that the Racers stopped thanks to a seven yard tackle-for-loss by Kenney Wooten on fourth-and-goal from the two.  In the second half, after having cut the lead to just one score, the Skyhawks looked as if they would get the ball back with over a minute on the clock after forcing the Racers into a third-and-ten situation. However, D.J. Penick stepped up for the Racers and broke off a 32-yard run virtually sealing the game for the Racers.

How It Happened
UT Martin ended the game with eight more total yards than the Racers, but despite its 461 total yards, was never able overcome its sluggish start. Despite finishing the game with 130 yards on the ground, the Racers were able to hold the Skyhawks to -4 yards rushing in the first half.

Dresser Winn was 33-for-52 for 331 yards in the game with two touchdowns and an interception, while Jamie Bowe rushed two touchdowns on seven carries for 28 yards. Defensively, Garrett Wall led UTM with eight tackles, while Julian Crutchfield had a game-high 1.5 sacks for a loss of 11 yards.

Big Game Q
On a night where he was honored as a senior, Quincy Williams continued to show out in his final season in blue and gold. The senior led the Racers with 11 tackles including 2.0 for loss, a pass breakup and interception that he took 82 yards for a touchdown. The play extended MSU’s lead to 21 points early in the fourth and would later prove to be the difference in the game, as MSU won by just one touchdown. Williams’ pick-six was also the longest by a Racer since Lucas Holt went 88 yards against Tennessee Tech in 2004.

Starting Strong
Murray State put up 323 total yards of offense in the first half, more than it had in any full game so far this season. In addition, the Racers’ 31 points in the opening half was just two less than it scored in the first three games combined.

Honey Smacked
Junior Malik Honeycutt became the first Racer receiver this season to tally over 100 yards in a game when he popped the UT Martin defense for 132 yards on five catches. The transfer averaged 26.4 yards per reception with a long of 53 yards.

Drew Does It Big
Drew Anderson became the first Racer in over year to throw for over 350 yards Saturday, as he went 21-for-32 for 373 yards with three touchdowns and just one interception. In addition, the fifth-year senior picked up a 17-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. Anderson’s big numbers can almost certainly be traced to back to his solid start to the game, as went 14-for-14 to open with game for a 179 yards and two touchdowns.

Fumble Drill Level: Expert
Murray State recovered two fumbles in the end zone for touchdowns Saturday, one on offense and one on special teams. The first came on punt by the Skyhawks in the second quarter that was fumbled, allowing Jason Johnson to fall on it in the end zone for the second fumble return touchdown of his career. The second came after UTM’s Brandon Anderson popped the ball loose from Jonathan Moss in the third quarter, however Dallas was able to dive on the ball in the end zone to not only prevent the would-be turnover, but to score as well.

Back-To-Back
Coupled with their win last season at UT Martin, the Racers have now beaten the Skyhawks in consecutive meeting for the first time since 2003 and 2004. UTM’s win in 2005 put an end to a 12-game win streak by the Racers and served as a turning point in the series for the Skyhawks. From 2005 to 2016, UT Martin lost just once, a 52-16 route by the Racers in 2010.

OK, What’s Next?
The Racers return to the road, as they travel to the Land of Lincoln to take on Eastern Illinois at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

To see some video highlights of the action, click on the link below.