# 2018 Murray State Racers football team

The 2018 Murray State Racers football team represented Murray State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Mitch Stewart and played their home games at Roy Stewart Stadium. They were members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 5–6, 5–3 in OVC play to finish in fourth place.

## Preseason
### OVC media poll

On July 20, 2018, the media covering the OVC released their preseason poll with the Racers predicted to finish in seventh place. On July 23, the OVC released their coaches poll with the Racers predicted to finish in eighth place.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Jacksonville State | 134 (14) |
| 2 | Austin Peay | 114 (1) |
| 3 | UT Martin | 96 |
| 4 | Tennessee State | 91 |
| 5 | Eastern Illinois | 83 |
| 6 | Eastern Kentucky | 64 |
| 7 | Murray State | 39 |
| 8 | Southeast Missouri State | 35 |
| 9 | Tennessee Tech | 19 |
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Jacksonville State | 126 (14) |
| 2 | Austin Peay | 112 (4) |
| 3 | UT Martin | 95 |
| 4 | Eastern Illinois | 73 |
| 5 | Eastern Kentucky | 69 |
| 6 | Tennessee State | 64 |
| 7 | Southeast Missouri State | 62 |
| 8 | Murray State | 24 |
| 9 | Tennessee Tech | 23 |

### Preseason All-OVC team

The Colonels had two players selected to the preseason all-OVC team.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 6:00 p.m. | Southern Illinois* | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | L 10–49 | 6,350 |
| September 8 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 17 Central Arkansas* | Estes StadiumConway, AR | ESPN+ | L 13–26 | 6,121 |
| September 15 | 11:00 a.m. | at Kentucky* | Kroger FieldLexington, KY | SECN | L 10–48 | 48,217 |
| September 29 | 6:00 p.m. | UT Martin | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | W 45–38 | 11,137 |
| October 6 | 6:00 p.m. | at Eastern Illinois | O'Brien StadiumCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | W 48–41 | 3,063 |
| October 13 | 1:00 p.m. | Tennessee State | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | W 45–21 | 3,318 |
| October 20 | 2:00 p.m. | at Eastern Kentucky | Roy Kidd StadiumRichmond, KY | ESPN+ | W 34–6 | 10,440 |
| October 27 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 12 Jacksonville State | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | L 15–42 | 8,053 |
| November 3 | 1:30 p.m. | at Tennessee Tech | Tucker StadiumCookeville, TN | ESPN+ | L 24–27 | 8,788 |
| November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 21 Southeast Missouri State | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | W 40–38 | 2,087 |
| November 17 | 4:00 p.m. | at Austin Peay | Fortera StadiumClarksville, TN | ESPN+ | L 23–48 | 7,113 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||
* Source: Schedule

## Game summaries
### Southern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Salukis | 7 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
| Racers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### At Central Arkansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| No. 17 Bears | 7 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 26 |

### At Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Wildcats | 7 | 10 | 17 | 14 | 48 |

### UT Martin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Skyhawks | 3 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 38 |
| Racers | 14 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 45 |

### At Eastern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 10 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 48 |
| Panthers | 7 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 41 |

### Tennessee State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tigers | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Racers | 3 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 45 |

### At Eastern Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 0 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 34 |
| Colonels | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |

### Jacksonville State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Gamecocks | 14 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
| Racers | 6 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 15 |

### At Tennessee Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 7 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 24 |
| Golden Eagles | 14 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 27 |

### Southeast Missouri State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 21 Redhawks | 17 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 38 |
| Racers | 0 | 7 | 17 | 16 | 40 |

### At Austin Peay

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 10 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 23 |
| Governors | 14 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 48 |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 3 | 98 | Quincy Williams | LB | Jacksonville Jaguars |