Homecoming has finally come around for Murray State, and with it comes the big event for the day: the football game.

This season, the Murray State football team hosts fellow OVC opponent, the Tennessee State Tigers.

The Tigers currently have a 3-4 record overall this season with a 2-0 record in the OVC. The Racers are 0-8 this season and 0-3 against OVC opponents.

In the overall matchup history, Murray State has come out on top of Tennessee State 18 times and lost14 times. The Racers average 29.3 points against the Tigers.

Last season, the Racers traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to take on the Tigers. Despite being down late, the Racers attempted a comeback but ultimately fell short, losing 27-21.

This season, Tennessee State’s junior quarterback Draylin Ellis mans the offense. In the six games he’s started, Ellis has completed 90 passes for 1186 yards and eight touchdowns, while throwing just three interceptions.

In his most recent performance against Eastern Illinois, he completed 75% of his passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns.

Week 4 of the season, Murray State had sophomore quarterback Jayden Stinson take over the starting spot, where he has stayed for five games. He’s thrown for 1082 yards so far this season with seven touchdowns but 12 interceptions so far

His performance against Lindenwood last week was a low point so far, as he threw for just 98 yards and had two interceptions with no passing touchdowns in the game.

The Racers’ offense had a good run game against Lindenwood, though, as sophomore running back Demonta Witherspoon rushed for a season high 157 yards against the Lions. 

Witherspoon’s stats have been down this season. He’s rushed for a total of 313 yards this year, compared to his 912 yards from last season. But after his season high performance last week, he may be looking to make another impact this week against the Tigers.

Other players who have helped the Racers’ offense this year include senior wide receivers DeQuan Dallas and LaMartez Brooks, who have 282 and 243 yards receiving, respectively. Dallas has just one receiving touchdown this season, while Brooks has two.

The Homecoming action between the Racers and the Tigers goes down at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Roy Stewart Stadium.

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