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
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 |
|---|
| 6:00 p.m. | Southern Illinois* | | ESPN+ | L 10–49 | 6,350 |
| September 8 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 17 Central Arkansas* | | ESPN+ | L 13–26 | 6,121 |
| September 15 | 11:00 a.m. | at Kentucky* | | 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 | | 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 | | 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 | | 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 | | 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
|
Game summaries
Southern Illinois
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Salukis
|
7
|
21
|
14
|
7 |
49 |
| Racers
|
3
|
7
|
0
|
0 |
10 |
At Central Arkansas
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Racers
|
3
|
10
|
0
|
0 |
13 |
| No. 17 Bears
|
7
|
13
|
0
|
6 |
26 |
At Kentucky
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Racers
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
7 |
10 |
| Wildcats
|
7
|
10
|
17
|
14 |
48 |
UT Martin
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Skyhawks
|
3
|
7
|
14
|
14 |
38 |
| Racers
|
14
|
17
|
7
|
7 |
45 |
At Eastern Illinois
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Racers
|
10
|
14
|
14
|
10 |
48 |
| Panthers
|
7
|
10
|
17
|
7 |
41 |
Tennessee State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Tigers
|
14
|
0
|
0
|
7 |
21 |
| Racers
|
3
|
21
|
14
|
7 |
45 |
At Eastern Kentucky
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Racers
|
0
|
10
|
14
|
10 |
34 |
| Colonels
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
0 |
6 |
Jacksonville State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| No. 12 Gamecocks
|
14
|
7
|
7
|
14 |
42 |
| Racers
|
6
|
3
|
6
|
0 |
15 |
At Tennessee Tech
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Racers
|
7
|
0
|
10
|
7 |
24 |
| Golden Eagles
|
14
|
3
|
7
|
3 |
27 |
Southeast Missouri State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| No. 21 Redhawks
|
17
|
14
|
0
|
7 |
38 |
| Racers
|
0
|
7
|
17
|
16 |
40 |
At Austin Peay
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Racers
|
10
|
7
|
0
|
6 |
23 |
| Governors
|
14
|
7
|
7
|
20 |
48 |
Players drafted into the NFL
References
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