2021 Murray State Racers football team

2021 Murray State Racers football
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
	Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

2021 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e
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

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.

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:^[1]

Mississippi Valley State at Murray State

	1	2	Total
Delta Devils			0
Racers			0

Pregame line	Over/under

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)

Pregame line	Over/under
−36.5	51.5

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

v t e Murray State Racers football
Venues	Roy Stewart Stadium (1973–present)
Bowls & rivalries	1949 Tangerine Bowl Western Kentucky: Battle for the Red Belt
Culture & lore	Racer One Dunker "Fight Song" "The Old Gray Mare" Racer Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024