Just The Facts
The Murray State football team reeled off 35 unanswered points as the Racers defeated Tennessee State, 45-21, Saturday at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray to improve to 3-0 in OVC play for the first time since 1997.
How It Happened
Tennessee State came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, scoring two touchdowns on 144 yards, while limiting the Racers to 81 yards including forcing quarterback Drew Anderson to throw his only interception of the game.
However, beginning in the second quarter, it was all Racers for the rest of the game. Starting with a one-yard touchdown pass from Anderson to LaMartez Brooks early in the second stanza, Murray State scored 35 unanswered points and finished the game on 42-7 run.
About The Tigers
Chris Rowland led Tennessee State on the afternoon with 128 yards and a touchdown on 13 catches, accounting for almost half of the Tigers’ 307 passing yards in the game. Michael Hughes was 30-of-45 passing the game with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Te’kendrick Roberson had a team-high 51 yards on the ground. Defensively, Vincent Sellers and Dajour Nesbeth posted a game-high eight tackles and a pass breakup each, while John Robinson had seven tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery,
All About Anderson
Drew Anderson completed 33 of 51 passes Saturday for 348 yards and a career-high five touchdowns and just one interception. In addition, he led the Racer rushing attack with 63 yards and added another touchdown on a 19-yard keeper. The transfer quarterback completed passes to 11 different receivers in the contest and engineered four touchdown drives of 70 yards or longer. With his five touchdowns, he becomes just the eighth quarterback in MSU history to throw at least five touchdown passes in a single game joining Casey Brockman, Jeff Ehrhardt, Justin Fuente, KD Humphries, Maikhail Miller, Michael Proctor and Larry Tillman.
Receiving By Committee
Fourteen different Racers caught passes in Saturday night’s win with Corey Newble leading the way with 70 yards on six catches. By leading the Racers against TSU, Newble is now the fifth different Racer through six games to lead the MSU receiving efforts. In addition, Brooks was the only Racer receiver to have multiple touchdowns in the game, as he had two to go along with 25 yards on three receptions.
Seizing The Opportunity
Murray State continued to impress on third down and in the red zone Saturday, converting 10-of-15 third down opportunities and scoring on six of seven trips to the red zone.
Defense Wins Games
After allowing 14 points on 144 yards in the first quarter, the Racer defense clamped down and gave up just one touchdown and 226 yards over the final three quarters. Seniors Quincy Williams and Marquez Sanford had a team-high seven tackles in the game in addition to a tackle for a loss of four yards and hurry by Williams. Other defensive highlights included sacks from Austin Hogancamp and Kenney Wooten, an interception by Cortez Roberts and a forced fumble from Qmond Woods.
Special Specialists
Gabriel Vicente improved to 8-for-8 on field goals and 21-for-21 on PATs Saturday by knocking down a season-high 47-yard field goal on his lone attempt of the game and connecting on all six PATs. On the other side of the ball, Steve Dawson excelled as well, averaging 50.0 yards on two punts with both pinning TSU inside their own 20-yard line.
OK, What’s Next?
The Racers travel east in the Commonwealth for their annual showdown with rival Eastern Kentucky. Kickoff from the other OVC stadium named after a Roy, Roy Kidd Stadium, is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.
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