2021 Murray State Racers football team

The 2021 Murray State Racers football team represented Murray State University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). They were led by second-year head coach Dean Hood and played their games at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky.

2021 Murray State Racers football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	6–5 (3–3 OVC)
Head coach	Dean Hood (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Ben Hodges (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Dillon Sanders (2nd season)
Home stadium	Roy Stewart Stadium

2021 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 13 UT Martin $^		5	–	1					10	–	3
Southeast Missouri State		4	–	2					4	–	7
Austin Peay		4	–	2					6	–	5
Tennessee State		3	–	3					5	–	6
Murray State		3	–	3					6	–	5
Eastern Illinois		1	–	5					1	–	10
Tennessee Tech		1	–	5					3	–	8
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:00 p.m.	Mississippi Valley State*	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 35–0	6,874
September 11	2:30 p.m.	at No. 7 (FBS) Cincinnati*	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	ESPN+	L 7–42	33,498
September 18	4:00 p.m.	at Bowling Green*	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPN3	L 10–27	20,097
October 2	4:00 p.m.	Eastern Illinois*	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 22–6	9,502
October 9	2:00 p.m.	at No. 21 UT Martin	Graham Stadium Martin, TN	ESPN+	L 24–48	7,111
October 16	2:00 p.m.	at Southeast Missouri State*	Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO	ESPN+	W 32–31	3,682
October 23	2:00 p.m.	Austin Peay	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN3	L 6-47	10,023
October 30	5:00 p.m.	at Tennessee State	Nissan Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN+	L 21–27	8,627
November 6	1:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 32–27	6,506
November 13	1:00 p.m.	Southeast Missouri State	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN3	W 28–10	6,313
November 20	12:00 p.m.	at Eastern Illinois	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+	W 20–13	1,850
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Source:

Games summaries

Mississippi Valley State

Mississippi Valley State at Murray State

1 2 Total Delta Devils 0 Racers 0 Date: September 2, 2021 Location: Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY Game start: 7:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time:   Game attendance:   Game weather: • Weather: TBD • Wind: TBD Referee:   TV announcers (ESPN+):

Scoring summary 1 2 3 4

See also: 2021 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Mississippi Valley State	Murray State
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Mississippi Valley State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Murray State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at No. 7 (FBS) Cincinnati

Murray State at Cincinnati

1 2 3 4 Total Racers 0 7 0 0 7 • No. 7 Bearcats 0 7 14 21 42 Date: September 11, 2021 Location: Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH Game start: 3:35 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 10 minutes Game attendance: 33,498 Game weather: 83 °F (28 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: N/A Referee: Tim Rich TV announcers (ESPN+): Connor Onion (play-by-play), Bobby Carpenter (analyst)

Scoring summary 2 13:41 MUR Preston Rice 1-yard run (Aaron Baum kick) (12 plays, 65 yards, 7:31) MUR 7–0 09:41 CIN Noah Davis 2-yard pass from Desmond Ridder (Cole Smith kick) (6 plays, 40 yards, 2:16) 7–7 3 10:05 CIN Jerome Ford 13-yard run (Cole Smith kick) (10 plays, 75 yards, 4:50) CIN 7–14 04:58 CIN Jerome Ford 8-yard run (Cole Smith kick) (8 plays, 55 yards, 3:08) CIN 7–21 4 14:13 CIN Tyler Scott 23-yard pass from Desmond Ritter (Cole Smith kick) (1 plays, 23 yards, 0:06) CIN 7–28 10:50 CIN Jerome Ford 3-yard run (Cole Smith kick) (4 plays, 63 yards, 2:09) CIN 7–35 01:08 CIN Payten Singletary 18-yard pass from Evan Prater (Cole Smith kick) (1 plays, 18 yards, 0:07) CIN 7–42

See also: 2021 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

Pregame line	Over/under
−36.5	51.5

Statistics	MUR	CIN
First downs	15	17
Total yards	242	391
Rushing yards	93	130
Passing yards	149	261
Time of possession	34:48	25:12

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
MUR	Passing	Preston Rice	17/29, 149 yards, 3 INT
	Rushing	Damonta Witherspoon	16 carries, 52 yards
	Receiving	Deshun Britten	5 receptions, 58 yards
CIN	Passing	Desmond Ridder	14/22, 243 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Jerome Ford	18 carries, 113 yards, 3 TD
	Receiving	Tyler Scott	4 receptions, 74 yards, 1 TD