After dropping to 1-4 on the season last week in a 59-0 loss, Murray State looked to bounce back on the road against the Indiana State Sycamores.
The Racers went three-and-out on the first possession of the game after a gain of three on first down was followed by two incompletions. The Sycamores strung together an eight-play, 58-yard drive in response to go up 7-0 with 9:59 left in the first quarter.
Murray State’s offense went on an eight-play, 80-yard drive on its second possession. The lengthy drive resulted in junior running back Jawuan Northington punching it in for the Racers to tie things up at seven apiece with 7:36 left in the first quarter.
Indiana State’s offensive momentum from its first possession carried over to its second. The Sycamores rolled on a seven-play, 77-yard drive that ended with a 25-yard run into the endzone by sophomore running back Plez Lawrence to give the Sycamores a 14-7 lead with 3:32 left in the first quarter.
After a successful Murray State fake punt extended its drive, the Racers turned the ball over on downs on 4th and three on Indiana State’s 31-yard line with 9:33 left in the second quarter.
The Sycamores weren’t able to capitalize on the turnover on downs and punted with 8:07 left in the second quarter. A pair of penalties on the punt return put the Racers at the five yard line, creating a difficult situation to get out of.
The Racers went three and out with their back against the wall inside of the 10-yard line. A short punt put the Sycamores in good field position and they took advantage of it, as redshirt freshman quarterback Elijah Owens scored on a 3-yard rush to give the Sycamores a 21-7 lead with 5:12 left in the first half.
Murray State responded with a 40-yard pass to senior wide receiver Justice Hill to put them in Sycamore territory. This chunk play set the Racers up for a field goal to lessen the Sycamores’ lead to 21-10 with 2:52 left in the second quarter. The score would remain the same going into halftime.
Both teams punted on their first possessions of the second half. Indiana State then went on a nine-play, 45-yard drive that ended in a field goal to up its lead to 24-10 with 7:56 left in the third quarter
Murray State closed the gap to 24-17 with 3:53 left in the third quarter after senior quarterback Jayden Johannsen hit senior wide receiver Kade Neely in the back of the endzone on a 2-yard touchdown pass.
The Racers held the Sycamores to a three-and-out on the following possession and were able to take the game into the fourth quarter down 24-17.
Murray State marched down the field and went on a 12-play, 62-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown connection between Johannsen and Hill. Hill’s touchdown made the score 24-24 with 11:18 left in the fourth quarter.
Both defenses stepped up to the task at hand and remained stingy, forcing the offenses to punt on the next three possessions. Murray State received the ball at their 46-yard line with 4:24 left in the game, they were able to chew up some of the clock and kick a field goal to make the score 27-24 with 1:57 left in the fourth quarter.
The Sycamores began to put together a clutch drive, starting from their 25-yard line and getting to Murray State’s 1-yard line with 0:43 left in the game. After two failed quarterback sneaks, Rocco Ciocca rushed for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Sycamores a 31-27 lead with 0:11 left in the game.
The Racers were unable to answer in the short amount of time left and lost the game 31-27.
Johannsen finished the game going 20/37 for 256 yards and two touchdowns. This game marked his first passing multi-touchdown game of the season. Northington totaled 15 carries for 55 yards and a touchdown, as junior running back Q’Daryius Jennings had 15 carries for 49 yards.
Hill finished as the team’s leading receiver, he finished with 7 receptions, 103 yards and a touchdown. Senior linebacker James Camden led the Racers with 7 solo tackles, as senior defensive lineman Dareon Goodrum finished with two sacks and junior defensive lineman Dennard Flowers also had a sack.
After the loss, the Racers dropped to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They will look to bounce back in Murray State’s homecoming game against top-20 ranked Illinois State University at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19. If you are unable to make it to the game, you can watch it live on ESPN+.
