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.

2018 Murray State Racers football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
2018 record	5–6 (5–3 OVC)
Head coach	Mitch Stewart (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Nick Coleman (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Jake Johnson (1st season)
Home stadium	Roy Stewart Stadium (Capacity: 16,800)

2018 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 10 Jacksonville State $^		7	–	1					8	–	3
No. 15 Southeast Missouri State ^		6	–	2					8	–	3
Eastern Kentucky		5	–	2					7	–	4
Murray State		5	–	3					5	–	6
Tennessee State		3	–	4					4	–	5
Eastern Illinois		3	–	5					3	–	8
Austin Peay		3	–	5					5	–	6
UT Martin		2	–	6					2	–	9
Tennessee Tech		1	–	7					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Previous season

The Racers finished the 2017 season 3–8, 2–5 in OVC play to finish in a tie for seventh 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.[1] On July 23, the OVC released their coaches poll with the Racers predicted to finish in eighth place.[2]

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.[3]

Defense Kenney Wooten – DL Specialists Gabriel Vicente – K

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	6:00 p.m.	Southern Illinois*	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 10–49	6,350
September 8	6:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Central Arkansas*	Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN+	L 13–26	6,121
September 15	11:00 a.m.	at Kentucky*	Kroger Field Lexington, KY	SECN	L 10–48	48,217
September 29	6:00 p.m.	UT Martin	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 45–38	11,137
October 6	6:00 p.m.	at Eastern Illinois	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	ESPN+	W 48–41	3,063
October 13	1:00 p.m.	Tennessee State	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 45–21	3,318
October 20	2:00 p.m.	at Eastern Kentucky	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 34–6	10,440
October 27	3:00 p.m.	No. 12 Jacksonville State	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 15–42	8,053
November 3	1:30 p.m.	at Tennessee Tech	Tucker Stadium Cookeville, TN	ESPN+	L 24–27	8,788
November 10	1:00 p.m.	No. 21 Southeast Missouri State	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 40–38	2,087
November 17	4:00 p.m.	at Austin Peay	Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN	ESPN+	L 23–48	7,113
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All 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

References

1. http://www.ovcsports.com/news/2018/7/10/media-pollsters-tab-jacksonville-state-as-2018-ovc-football-preseason-favorites.aspx
2. http://www.ovcsports.com/news/2018/7/10/jacksonville-state-picked-as-2018-ohio-valley-conference-football-favorites.aspx?path=football
3. http://www.ovcsports.com/news/2018/7/10/semos-terry-jsus-bridges-named-ovc-preseason-football-players-of-the-year.aspx?path=football