# 2024 Murray State Racers football team

The 2024 Murray State Racers football team represented Murray State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Racers were led by first-year head coach Jody Wright and played home games at Roy Stewart Stadium located in Murray, Kentucky.

## Preseason
### MVFC poll

The MVFC released it preseason prediction poll on July 22, 2024. The Racers were predicted to finish eleventh (last) in the conference.
MVFC media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | South Dakota State | 482 (42) |
| 2 | North Dakota State | 437 (1) |
| 3 | South Dakota | 371 |
| 4 | Southern Illinois | 293 |
| 5 | North Dakota | 276 |
| 6 | Illinois State | 264 |
| 7 | Youngtown State | 255 |
| 8 | Northern Iowa | 227 |
| 9 | Missouri State | 164 (1) |
| 10 | Indiana State | 68 |
| 11 | Murray State | 67 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 29 | 7:00 pm | at No. 11 (FBS) Missouri* | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | SEC Network/ESPN+ | L 0–51 | 62,621 |
| September 7 | 6:00 pm | Butler* | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | L 17–19 | 7,213 |
| September 14 | 6:00 pm | Mississippi Valley State* | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | W 59–8 | 9,088 |
| September 28 | 1:00 pm | at No. 9 North Dakota | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | ESPN+ | L 35–72 | 10,828 |
| October 5 | 2:00 pm | No. 4 South Dakota | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | L 0–59 | 6,437 |
| October 12 | 12:00 p.m. | at Indiana State | Memorial StadiumTerre Haute, IN | ESPN+ | L 27–31 | 3,056 |
| October 19 | 2:00 pm | No. 21 Illinois State | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | L 32–40 | 15,991 |
| October 26 | 1:00 pm | No. 1 North Dakota State | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | L 6–59 | 6,133 |
| November 2 | 2:00 pm | at No. 3 South Dakota State | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD | ESPN+ | L 6–52 | 16,376 |
| November 9 | 1:00 pm | Missouri State | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | L 31–59 | 5,127 |
| November 16 | 12:30 pm | at Kentucky* | Kroger FieldLexington, KY | SECN+/ESPN+ | L 6–48 | 48,370 |
| November 23 | 12:00 pm | at Southern Illinois | Saluki StadiumCarbondale, IL | ESPN+ | L 0–62 | 5,310 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at No. 11 (FBS) Missouri

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 11 (FBS) Tigers | 28 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 51 |
at Faurot Field • Columbia, Missouri
* Date: Thursday, August 29, 2024
* Game time: 7 pm CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 85 degrees, 7 mph south wind
* Game attendance: 62,621
* TV announcers (SECN): Matt Barrie (play-by-play), Dan Mullen (analyst), and Harry Lyles Jr. (sideline)
| Statistics | MURR | MIZZ |
| First downs | 5 | 30 |
| Total yards | 85 | 489 |
| Rushing yards | 58 | 189 |
| Passing yards | 27 | 300 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 7-15-1 | 29-41-0 |
| Time of possession | 26:46 | 33:14 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Murray State | Passing | Jayden Johannsen | 7-13, 27 yards, 1 INT |
| Murray State | Rushing | Jawaun Northington | 7 carries, 25 yards |
| Murray State | Receiving | Josh Crabtree | 2 reception, 14 yards |
| Missouri | Passing | Brady Cook | 19-30, 218 yards, 1 TD |
| Missouri | Rushing | Nate Noel | 11 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD |
| Missouri | Receiving | Mookie Cooper | 1 reception, 49 yards |

### Butler

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Racers | - | - | - | - | 0 |
at Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, Kentucky
* Date: Saturday, September 7, 2024
* Game time: 6 pm CDT
* TV: ESPN+
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Butler | Passing |
| Butler | Rushing |
| Butler | Receiving |
| Murray State | Passing |
| Murray State | Rushing |
| Murray State | Receiving |

### Mississippi Valley State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Delta Devils | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Racers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY
* Date: Saturday September 14, 2024
* Game time: 6:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
* TV: ESPN+
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Mississippi Valley State | Passing |
| Mississippi Valley State | Rushing |
| Mississippi Valley State | Receiving |
| Murray State | Passing |
| Murray State | Rushing |
| Murray State | Receiving |

### at No. 9 North Dakota

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 9 Fighting Hawks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Alerus Center, Grand Forks, ND
* Date: Saturday September 28, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 PM
* TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Murray State | Passing |
| Murray State | Rushing |
| Murray State | Receiving |
| North Dakota | Passing |
| North Dakota | Rushing |
| North Dakota | Receiving |

### No. 4 South Dakota

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4 Coyotes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Racers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY
* Date: Saturday October 5, 2024
* Game time: 2:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
* TV: ESPN+
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| South Dakota | Passing |
| South Dakota | Rushing |
| South Dakota | Receiving |
| Murray State | Passing |
| Murray State | Rushing |
| Murray State | Receiving |

### at Indiana State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sycamores | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Memorial Stadium, Terre Haute, IN
* Date: Saturday October 12, 2024
* Game time: 12:00 PM
* TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Murray State | Passing |
| Murray State | Rushing |
| Murray State | Receiving |
| Indiana State | Passing |
| Indiana State | Rushing |
| Indiana State | Receiving |

### No. 21 Illinois State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 21 Redbirds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Racers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY
* Date: Saturday October 19, 2024
* Game time: 2:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
* TV: ESPN+
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Illinois State | Passing |
| Illinois State | Rushing |
| Illinois State | Receiving |
| Murray State | Passing |
| Murray State | Rushing |
| Murray State | Receiving |

### No. 1 North Dakota State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Bison | 21 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 59 |
| Racers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
at Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY
* Date: Saturday October 26, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 66 °F (19 °C) • Wind: NE 10 miles per hour (16 km/h)
* Game attendance: 6,133
* Referee: Aaron Adams
* TV: ESPN+
| Statistics | NDSU | MURR |
| First downs | 23 | 19 |
| Total yards | 459 | 308 |
| Rushing yards | 190 | 116 |
| Passing yards | 269 | 192 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 14–20–0 | 18–33–3 |
| Time of possession | 29:00 | 31:00 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| North Dakota State | Passing | Nathan Hayes | 9/15, 141 yards, 2 TD |
| North Dakota State | Rushing | CharMar Brown | 13 carries, 97 yards, 3 TD |
| North Dakota State | Receiving | Bryce Lance | 4 receptions, 108 yards, 3 TD |
| Murray State | Passing | Jayden Johannsen | 13/22, 139 yards, 3 INT |
| Murray State | Rushing | Q'Darryius Jennings | 7 carries, 36 yards |
| Murray State | Receiving | J'Kalon Carter | 4 receptions, 70 yards |

### at No. 3 South Dakota State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 3 Jackrabbits | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, Brookings, SD
* Date: Saturday November 2, 2024
* Game time: 2:00 PM
* TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Murray State | Passing |
| Murray State | Rushing |
| Murray State | Receiving |
| South Dakota State | Passing |
| South Dakota State | Rushing |
| South Dakota State | Receiving |

### Missouri State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Racers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY
* Date: Saturday November 9, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
* TV: ESPN+
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Missouri State | Passing |
| Missouri State | Rushing |
| Missouri State | Receiving |
| Murray State | Passing |
| Murray State | Rushing |
| Murray State | Receiving |

### at Kentucky (FBS)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wildcats (FBS) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Kroger Field, Lexington, KY
* Date: Saturday November 16, 2024
* Game time: 12:30 PM
* TV announcers (SECN+/ESPN+): Richard Cross (play-by-play) and Charles Arbuckle (analyst)
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Murray State | Passing |
| Murray State | Rushing |
| Murray State | Receiving |
| Kentucky | Passing |
| Kentucky | Rushing |
| Kentucky | Receiving |

### at Southern Illinois

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Salukis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Saluki Stadium, Carbondale, IL
* Date: Saturday November 23, 2024
* Game time: 12:00 PM
* TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Murray State | Passing |
| Murray State | Rushing |
| Murray State | Receiving |
| Southern Illinois | Passing |
| Southern Illinois | Rushing |
| Southern Illinois | Receiving |