The Murray State Racers Football Team is now two games into their season, with two very different scores. On Sounds Good, Tracy Ross speaks with 'Voice of the Racers' Neal Bradley about the games and the two ahead, including Western Michigan this weekend and the 'Family Weekend' home game against Tennessee Tech next Saturday.
Vs Kentucky Wesleyan - 52 to 12 win
Kentucky Wesleyan struggled early on last year and had much of their same team returning this year. The Racers held them off and Bradley says he was impressed with the offense. KD Humphries stood out as a top player, Jeremy Harness had three touchdown grabs. Pokey Harris took 73 yards and while Elijah Daniel didn't put up big numbers, he was double-teamed the entire time. The only negative, he says, was a punt return by Shawn Samuels-Connell down to the first goal at the two and the Racers tried to punch it in three straight times and didn't get it in, which made Bradley feel a bit anxious.
Vs Northern Illinois University - 26 to 57 loss
Bradley says this was the most points scored against an FBS team since 1989 when the Racers played against Akron, Ohoi. Offensively, they looked good and the score isn't as bad as it looks. It was a two-possession game early in the 4th quarter and the Racers were down by 16. The depth issue really took over with over 30 additional scholarships allowed, something the Racers couldn't compete with. Murray State led at the end of the first quarter 7 to 6 but were down 10 to 20 at halftime.
On a positive note, they couldn't run the ball against the Racers and this is a team that likes running it, Bradley says. They made adjustments and threw the ball better in the second half. With Ohio State coming up, they thought they'd vanilla their way through the entire game and couldn't do it. Janawski Davis played his first game and hauled in a tough catch. Jeremy Harness had another couple. Dylan Boone had a scoop in score. Jalen Harrington ripped the ball out of a guy down the field and had a 47 yard return before running out of gas and getting taken down. Bradley says he was very encouraged by what he saw this game and fans shouldn't be disappointed by the score.
Western Michigan (September 19)
The Racers will get another test this week taking on Western Michigan. They have Jarvion Franklin coming back from last year where he helped them have one of the biggest FBS turnarounds in the nation. Their coach was named the MAC Coach of the Year, they went from two wins to eight wins. Other players to watch are Daniel Braverman a leading receiver and Corey Davis who had one of the best catches in FBS recently. Defensively they are larger, but they don't have the speed the Racers have and this might be an exploit. The Racers are an underdog in this match, he says.
Tennessee Tech (September 26)
Next Saturday, Racers return to Stewart Stadium for a Family Weekend match against Tennessee Tech. Bradley says Family Weekend is a terrific night with big turnouts and one of his favorites. This team has been a bit up and down and not off to the best of starts. Their coach is the "losingest" coach in college football history, he says, but this is becuase he's coached everywhere and has a lot of wins, too. His teams tend to be very fundamentally sound, they don't gamble defensively, run the ball well and like passing. It's the first team he says he saw in the OVC use the no huddle offense. It'll be a fun game, he adds.
