2024 Murray State Racers football team

2024 Murray State Racers football
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Record	1–11 (0–8 MVFC)
Head coach	Jody Wright (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinators	Adam Ross (1st season) Jimmy Ogle (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Ryan Smith (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Roy Stewart Stadium
Seasons ←  2023 2025  →

2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State +^		7	–	1					14	–	2
No. 3 South Dakota State +^		7	–	1					12	–	3
No. 4 South Dakota +^		7	–	1					11	–	3
No. 11 Illinois State ^		6	–	2					10	–	4
Missouri State *		6	–	2					8	–	4
Youngstown State		3	–	5					4	–	8
Indiana State		3	–	5					4	–	8
North Dakota		2	–	6					5	–	7
Southern Illinois		2	–	6					4	–	8
Northern Iowa		1	–	7					3	–	9
Murray State		0	–	8					1	–	11
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant * – Ineligible for 2024 FCS playoffs due to transition to the FBS Rankings from STATS Poll

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. ^[1]

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 Field Columbia, MO	SEC Network/ESPN+	L 0–51	62,621
September 7	6:00 pm	Butler *	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 17–19	7,213
September 14	6:00 pm	Mississippi Valley State *	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 59–8	9,088
September 28	1:00 pm	at No. 9 North Dakota	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	L 35–72	10,828
October 5	2:00 pm	No. 4 South Dakota	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 0–59	6,437
October 12	12:00 p.m.	at Indiana State	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	L 27–31	3,056
October 19	2:00 pm	No. 21 Illinois State	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 32–40	15,991
October 26	1:00 pm	No. 1 North Dakota State	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 6–59	6,133
November 2	2:00 pm	at No. 3 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN+	L 6–52	16,376
November 9	1:00 pm	Missouri State	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 31–59	5,127
November 16	12:30 pm	at Kentucky *	Kroger Field Lexington, KY	SECN+/ESPN+	L 6–48	48,370
November 23	12:00 pm	at Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	L 0–62	5,310
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^{[2] [3]}

Game summaries

at No. 11 (FBS) Missouri

See also: 2024 Missouri Tigers football team

Game One – Murray State Racers (0–0) at No. 11 (FBS) Missouri Tigers (0–0) – Game summary

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)

Game information

First quarter (12:42) MIZZ: Luther Burden III 16 yard pass from Brady Cook (Blake Craig Kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 42 yards, 2:15; Missouri 7-0) (9:48) MIZZ: Nate Noel 9 yard run (Blake Craig Kick) (Drive: 3 plays, 34 yards, 1:12; Missouri 14-0) (9:41) MIZZ: Toriano Pride Jr. 25 yard interception return (Blake Craig Kick) (Drive: 1 plays, 0 yards, 0:08; Missouri 21-0) (3:38) MIZZ: Marcus Carroll 1 yard run (Blake Craig Kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards, 2:03; Missouri 28-0) Second quarter (0:01) MIZZ: Brady Cook 3 yard run (Blake Craig Kick) (Drive: 14 plays, 68 yards, 3:02; Missouri 35-0) Third quarter (8:50) MIZZ: Blake Craig 39 yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 76 yards, 4:21; Missouri 38-0) (7:09) MIZZ: Jamal Roberts 2 yard run (Blake Craig Kick) (Drive: 2 plays, 10 yards, 0:49; Missouri 45-0) Fourth quarter (13:34) MIZZ: Blake Craig 22 yard field goal (Drive: 14 plays, 76 yards, 7:06; Missouri 48-0) (1:57) MIZZ: Blake Craig 27 yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 84 yards, 6:32; Missouri 51-0)

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
	Rushing	Jawaun Northington	7 carries, 25 yards
	Receiving	Josh Crabtree	2 reception, 14 yards
Missouri	Passing	Brady Cook	19-30, 218 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Nate Noel	11 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Mookie Cooper	1 reception, 49 yards

No. 4 South Dakota

See also: 2024 South Dakota Coyotes football team

Game Six – No. 4 South Dakota Coyotes (3–1) vs Murray State Racers (1–3) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Coyotes	21	3	21	14	59
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)
• Game attendance: 6.437
• TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	SDAK	MURR
First downs	26	10
Total yards	582	213
Rushing yards	361	90
Passing yards	221	123
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	16-22-1	13-21-2
Time of possession	36:20	23:40

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Dakota	Passing	Aidan Bouman	16-22, 221 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Travis Theis	14 carries, 132 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Quaron Adams	3 receptions, 83 yards
Murray State	Passing	Jayden Johannsen	7-13, 84 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Jawaun Northington	11 carries, 46 yards
	Receiving	JK Carter	3 receptions, 54 yards

No. 1 North Dakota State

See also: 2024 North Dakota State Bison football team

Game Eight – No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (7–1) vs Murray State Racers (1–6) – Game summary

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+

Game information

First quarter (11:55) NDSU – CharMar Brown 7-yard run, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:05; North Dakota State 7–0) (5:05) NDSU – Bryce Lance 74-yard pass from Cam Miller, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 1 play, 74 yards, 0:11; North Dakota State 14–0) (4:14) NDSU – Enock Sibomana 34-yard interception, Griffin Crosa kick (North Dakota State 21–0) Second quarter (12:47) NDSU – CharMar Brown 3-yard run, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 7 plays, 60 yards, 3:21; North Dakota State 28–0) (8:32) MURR – James London 24-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 69 yards, 4:15; North Dakota State 28–3) (6:58) NDSU – Bryce Lance 17-yard pass from Cam Miller, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 3 plays, 42 yards, 1:34; North Dakota State 35–3) (0:53) NDSU – Bryce Lance 6-yard pass from Cam Miller, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:08; North Dakota State 42–3) Third quarter (13:16) NDSU – CharMar Brown 1-yard run, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 5 plays, 30 yards, 1:38; North Dakota State 49–3) (10:09) NDSU – Eli Ozick 31-yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 12 yards, 2:27; North Dakota State 52–3) Fourth quarter (7:58) MURR – James London 47-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, -2 yards, 1:13; North Dakota State 52–6) (1:11) NDSU – John Gores 9-yard pass from Nathan Hayes, Eli Ozick kick (Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 6:47; North Dakota State 59–6)

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
	Rushing	CharMar Brown	13 carries, 97 yards, 3 TD
	Receiving	Bryce Lance	4 receptions, 108 yards, 3 TD
Murray State	Passing	Jayden Johannsen	13/22, 139 yards, 3 INT
	Rushing	Q'Darryius Jennings	7 carries, 36 yards
	Receiving	J'Kalon Carter	4 receptions, 70 yards

References

1. "Valley Football 2024 Preseason Team and Poll". Missouri Valley Football Conference. July 22, 2024. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
2. "2024 Murray State Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
3. "Murray State Racers Schedule 2024". ESPN. Retrieved April 7, 2024.