# 2020 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

The 2020 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team represented Eastern Kentucky University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by Walt Wells in his first season as the program's 15th head coach. The Colonels played their home games at Roy Kidd Stadium and competed as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.

## Schedule

While the Ohio Valley Conference moved conference games to the spring of 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while allowing member schools to play four non-conference games in the fall of 2020, Eastern Kentucky scheduled eight non-conference games for the fall of 2020.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | 1:00 p.m. | at Marshall* | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV | ESPN | L 0–59 | 12,001 |
| September 12 | 12:00 p.m. | at West Virginia* | Milan Puskar StadiumMorgantown, WV | FS1 | L 10–56 | 976 |
| September 26 | 1:00 p.m. | at The Citadel* | Johnson Hagood StadiumCharleston, SC | ESPN+ | W 37–14 | 3,081 |
| October 3 | 3:00 p.m. | Houston Baptist* | Roy Kidd StadiumRichmond, KY | ESPN+ | L 30–33 | 2,916 |
| October 17 | 7:00 p.m. | at Troy* | Veterans Memorial StadiumTroy, AL | ESPN3 | L 29–31 | 10,500 |
| October 24 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 11 Central Arkansas* | Roy Kidd StadiumRichmond, KY | ESPN+ | W 31–28 | 2,932 |
| November 7 | 3:00 p.m. | Stephen F. Austin* | Roy Kidd StadiumRichmond, KY | ESPN+ | L 6–24 | 2,569 |
| November 14 | 4:00 p.m. | at No. 11 Central Arkansas* | Estes StadiumConway, AR | ESPN+ | L 25–37 | 2,000 |
| November 21 | 3:00 p.m. | Western Carolina* | Roy Kidd StadiumRichmond, KY (Opportunity Bowl) | ESPN+ | W 49–17 | 3,009 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At Marshall

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colonels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thundering Herd | 21 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 59 |
at Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, West Virginia
* Date: Saturday, September 5, 2020
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 77 °F (25 °C) • Wind: ENE 3 mph
* TV announcers (ESPN): Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), Katie George (sideline)
* Pregame line: Marshall –25.5 • Odds to win: Marshall 95.8%
| Statistics | EKU | MRSH |
| First downs | 7 | 34 |
| Plays–yards | 47–166 | 83–627 |
| Rushes–yards | 31–86 | 54–282 |
| Passing yards | 80 | 345 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 10–16–1 | 22–29–0 |
| Time of possession | 25:37 | 34:23 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Eastern Kentucky | Passing | Parker McKinney | 7/10, 71 yards, 1 INT |
| Eastern Kentucky | Rushing | Quentin Pringle | 6 carries, 39 yards |
| Eastern Kentucky | Receiving | Keyion Dixon | 3 receptions, 34 yards |
| Marshall | Passing | Grant Wells | 16/23, 307 yards, 4 TD |
| Marshall | Rushing | Knowledge McDaniel | 14 carries, 93 yards |
| Marshall | Receiving | Talik Keaton | 2 receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD |

### At West Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colonels | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Mountaineers | 14 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 56 |

### At The Citadel

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colonels | 13 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 37 |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### Houston Baptist

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 14 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 33 |
| Colonels | 7 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 30 |
at Roy Kidd Stadium, Richmond, Kentucky
* Date: October 3
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy 43% Humidity • Temperature: 62–69 °F (17–21 °C) • Wind: 1-3 SW MPH
* Game attendance: 2,916
* Referee: Steve Hazle
* TV: ESPN3
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | HBU | EKU |
| First downs | 24 | 26 |
| Total yards | 520 | 480 |
| Rushing yards | 140 | 184 |
| Passing yards | 380 | 296 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 27:41 | 32:19 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Houston Baptist | Passing | Bailey Zappe | 35/46, 380 yards, 3 TD |
| Houston Baptist | Rushing | Dreshawn Minnieweather | 9 rushes, 38 yards, TD |
| Houston Baptist | Receiving | Vernon Harrell | 10 receptions, 98 yards, TD |
| Eastern Kentucky | Passing | Parker McKinney | 25/40, 296 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| Eastern Kentucky | Rushing | Alonzo Booth | 17 rushes, 108 yards, TD |
| Eastern Kentucky | Receiving | Keyion Dixon | 6 receptions, 112 yards, TD |

### At Troy

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colonels | 7 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 29 |
| • Trojans | 14 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TROY −30 | 60 |
| Statistics | Eastern Kentucky | Troy |
| First downs | 21 | 27 |
| Total yards | 425 | 507 |
| Rushing yards | 55 | 174 |
| Passing yards | 370 | 333 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 34:12 | 25:48 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Eastern Kentucky | Passing | Parker McKinney | 30/47, 370 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT |
| Eastern Kentucky | Rushing | Alonzo Booth | 15 carries, 39 yards, 1 TD |
| Eastern Kentucky | Receiving | Keyion Dixon | 8 receptions, 196 yards, 2 TDs |
| Troy | Passing | Gunnar Watson | 26/38, 333 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs |
| Troy | Rushing | Kimani Vidal | 13 carries, 143 yards, 1 TD |
| Troy | Receiving | Kaylon Geiger | 7 receptions, 100 yards |

### No. 11 Central Arkansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Bears | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Colonels | 0 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 31 |

### Stephen F. Austin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lumberjacks | 14 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
| Colonels | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |

### At No. 11 Central Arkansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colonels | 0 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 25 |
| No. 11 Bears | 17 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 37 |

### Western Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Catamounts | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Colonels | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 | 49 |