2019 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

The 2019 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team represented Eastern Kentucky University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Mark Elder and played their home games at Roy Kidd Stadium as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 7–5, 5–3 in OVC play to finish in fourth place. Elder was fired following the season, he finished with a record of 21–24.[1]

2019 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
2019 record	7–5 (5–3 OVC)
Head coach	Mark Elder (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Adam Austin (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Kurt Maddix (4th season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Shannon Morrison (4th season)
Home stadium	Roy Kidd Stadium (Capacity: 20,000)

2019 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 8 Austin Peay +^		7	–	1					9	–	3
No. 17 Southeast Missouri State +^		7	–	1					9	–	3
UT Martin		6	–	2					7	–	5
Eastern Kentucky		5	–	3					7	–	5
Tennessee Tech		3	–	5					6	–	6
Jacksonville State		3	–	5					6	–	6
Murray State		2	–	6					4	–	8
Tennessee State		2	–	6					3	–	9
Eastern Illinois		1	–	7					1	–	11
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Previous season

The Colonels finished the 2018 season 7–4, 5–2 in OVC play to finish in third place.

Preseason

Preseason coaches' poll

The OVC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 22, 2019. The Colonels were picked to finish in third place.[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Jacksonville State	135 (15)
2	Southeast Missouri State	115
3	Eastern Kentucky	99
4	Austin Peay	84
5	Tennessee State	75
6	UT Martin	58
7	Murray State	55
8	Eastern Illinois	38
9	Tennessee Tech	16

Preseason All-OVC team

The Colonels had three players at three positions selected to the preseason all-OVC team.[3]

Offense Daryl McCleskey Jr. – RB

Defense Aaron Patrick – DL Leodis Moore III – DB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	7:00 p.m.	Valparaiso*	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 53–7	11,130
September 7	7:00 p.m.	at Louisville*	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	ACCN Extra	L 0–42	48,808
September 14	1:00 p.m.	at Indiana State*	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	L 7–19	4,416
September 21	1:00 p.m.	at Presbyterian*	Bailey Memorial Stadium Clinton, SC	ESPN+	W 35–10	2,152
September 28	6:00 p.m.	Tennessee State	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 42–16	8,861
October 5	3:00 p.m.	UT Martin	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN3	L 28–38	11,260
October 19	3:00 p.m.	at Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 34–27	9,029
October 26	3:00 p.m.	at Eastern Illinois	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+	W 33–6	4,000
November 2	1:00 p.m.	Austin Peay	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	L 21–28 ^OT	7,330
November 9	2:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Southeast Missouri State	Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO	ESPN3	L 31–38	3,750
November 16	1:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 22–10	2,987
November 23	2:00 p.m.	at Jacksonville State	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN3	W 29–23	14,477
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

[4]

Game summaries

Valparaiso

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crusaders	0	0	7	0	7
Colonels	15	17	7	14	53

at Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	0	0	0	0	0
Cardinals	14	0	14	14	42

at Indiana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	0	0	7	0	7
Sycamores	3	7	0	9	19

at Presbyterian

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	7	14	0	14	35
Blue Hose	10	0	0	0	10

Tennessee State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	3	6	7	0	16
Colonels	7	14	7	14	42

UT Martin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Skyhawks	7	10	14	7	38
Colonels	7	7	7	7	28

at Murray State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	7	10	17	0	34
Racers	3	7	7	10	27

at Eastern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	7	7	3	16	33
Panthers	0	0	0	6	6

Austin Peay

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Governors	7	0	7	7	7	28
Colonels	10	0	0	11	0	21

at Southeast Missouri State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	7	17	7	0	31
No. 17 Redhawks	7	7	7	17	38

Tennessee Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	7	0	3	0	10
Colonels	7	9	0	6	22

at Jacksonville State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	6	3	14	6	29
Gamecocks	6	3	7	7	23

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV
Coaches	RV

References

1. "Mark Elder out as Eastern Kentucky football coach". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
2. "Media Pollsters Tab Jacksonville State as 2019 OVC Football Preseason Favorites". ovcsports.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
3. "JSU's Cooper, SEMO's Hall Named 2019 OVC Preseason Football Players of the Year". ovcsports.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
4. "2019 Eastern Kentucky Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 7, 2019.