Keith Jaco
Staff writer
The Murray State Racers’ football team sits alone atop the OVC after its dominant performance over Eastern Kentucky University last Saturday, Oct. 20.
The Racers will welcome Jacksonville State University for their homecoming game this Saturday, Oct. 27. JSU is coming off its first OVC loss since 2013.
Head Coach Mitch Stewart put an emphasis on his team understanding the work ahead of them.
“My main concern this week is our mindset,” Stewart said. “We’ve got to make sure our team understands what got them to this point, because right now they’re hearing a lot of ‘4-0 talk’ and ‘number one in the conference’ and all of that stuff. We’ve got to tell them to keep their eyes focused on the work at hand because this has to be a tremendous week of practice for us.”
Murray State has put together quite the string of performances over the last four weeks, as it managed to get back above a .500 winning percentage and is currently 4-0 in conference.
The defense continued to be a bright spot for the Racers against EKU, as a pair of interceptions and three sacks from senior defensive end Kenney Wooten held the Colonels to just six points on the afternoon. The Racers’ defense will be tasked with stopping a JSU offense that outscored its opponents 292-81 in its five-game winning streak prior to last week’s loss at Southeast Missouri State University.
Senior cornerback Marquez Sanford knows the importance of the defense firing on all cylinders this Saturday.
“We know they’re talented, but we feel like we have some players on defense that can compete with anybody in the country,” Sanford said. “This is a ‘do your job’ type of game so I think that’s going to be the biggest thing for us, doing our job.”
While the defense knows the task at hand, the Racers’ offense will look to continue their hot streak with senior quarterback Drew Anderson settling in under center. Anderson has thrown for 762 yards on 74-117 passing attempts with eight touchdowns in his last three games.
Sophomore running back D.J. Penick will be back in action for the Racers this week, after being sidelined a week ago with a concussion.
Jacksonville State is coming off a disappointing loss to SEMO last Saturday, ending its 36-game OVC winning streak. The Gamecocks will look to regroup and keep their OVC championship chances alive with a win over the Racers on Saturday afternoon.
Murray State will host Jacksonville State at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27, at Roy Stewart Stadium.
