Murray State (1-0, 1-0 OVC) vs. #16 Southeast Missouri (1-1, 1-0 OVC)
Game Information
Date: Sunday, March 7, 2021
Kickoff: 2 p.m., CT
Weather Forecast: Sunny, 54 degrees
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Houck Field (10,000)
Surface: FieldTurf
Series: MSU leads, 40-13-1
Last Meeting: SEMO 31, MSU 24 (Nov. 23, 2019 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.)
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (35-39 overall; 34-39 at SEMO; 26-22 OVC). Dean Hood (56-38 overall; 1-0 at MUR).
Follow the Redhawks
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean, Rick Wieser)
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter: @SEMOfootball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
Redhawks Host Murray State
#16 Southeast Missouri (1-1, 1-0) plays host to rival Murray State (1-1, 1-0) in its home-opener Sunday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m., CT at Houck Field.
Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean and Rick Wieser will be on the call. Watch on ESPN+. Live stats are available at GoSoutheast.com and Twitter updates will be provided @SEMOfootball.
Home-Openers
The Redhawks are 18-11 all-time in home-openers during their NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) era (since 1991). Southeast Missouri is 4-2 in such games under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz. The Redhawks won their home-opener in each of the last two seasons.
OVC Openers
Southeast Missouri is 10-19 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference openers. The Redhawks begin their OVC slate at home for the second-straight season. SEMO hosts Murray State to start league action for the first time since 2015. That year, the Redhawks beat the Racers, 27-10, on Oct. 3. SEMO is 4-2 in OVC openers under head coach Tom Matukewicz.
Series History
The Redhawks and Racers meet for the 55th time on the gridiron Sunday. Murray State holds a 40-13-1 lead in the all-time series between these teams. Southeast Missouri won four of its last five meetings with MSU. Nine of SEMO's 13 wins against the Racers have come at Houck Field.
Makeup Date
Southeast Missouri and Murray State were originally supposed to play their spring opener in Cape Girardeau on Feb. 21. However, Cape Girardeau was slammed with large amounts of sleet, snow and ice the week before that contest. Temperatures ranged anywhere between 11-24 degrees (highs) and 13-1 degrees (lows). As a result, the game was rescheduled for Mar. 7.
Spring Opening Blowout
The Redhawks opened their Ohio Valley Conference spring season with a dominating 47-7 win over Eastern Illinois on Feb. 28 in Charleston. Defensively, Southeast Missouri put together an outstanding performance recording four takeaways (three interceptions) and stopping EIU five times on fourth down. SEMO limited the Panthers to only 114 yards in the game's opening two quarters.
High Scoring Affair
Southeast Missouri's 47 points against Eastern Illinois were its most in 28 meetings with the Panthers. SEMO also scored its most points in an Ohio Valley Conference road game since finishing with 56 at UT Martin on Oct. 27, 2018.
Home Winning Streak
Southeast Missouri has won 12-consecutive regular season games at Houck Field. SEMO is 12-1 on its home field in the last two years with its only blemish coming against Illinois State in the first round of the FCS Playoffs in 2019. The Redhawks last regular-season home loss was to UT Martin (16-14) on Nov. 4, 2017.
Quite Awhile
When Southeast Missouri took the field for its Ohio Valley Conference opener at Eastern Illinois (Feb. 28), it was the first OVC game SEMO played in 463 days. Ironically, the last OVC contest the Redhawks played before last Sunday was vs. Murray State (W, 31-24) on Nov. 23, 2019. That game was played in Cape Girardeau.
Congratulations Coach Tuke!
With Southeast Missouri's 47-7 win at Eastern Illinois (Feb. 28), Tom Matukewicz claimed its 34th victory at SEMO. As a result, Matukewicz passed John Mumford (1990-99) for the most wins of any head coach during its NCAA Division I era. The conference win also gave Matukewicz the most OVC victories of any SEMO head coach since the Redhawks moved to Division I. Matukewicz (26) also surpassed Mumford for that mark.
Margin of Victory
The 40-point win (47-7) over Eastern Illinois (Feb. 28) was the Redhawks largest in an Ohio Valley Conference game. Southeast Missouri's +40 margin of victory surpassed its previous +36 (49-13) win over Murray State on Nov. 14, 2009.
Redhawks Move Up Five Spots to #16 in STATS Media Poll
Southeast Missouri moved up five spots to #16 in this week's STATS Media Poll. The Redhawks and #10 Jacksonville State are the Ohio Valley Conference teams ranked.
STATS Media Poll Rankings
Preseason #25
2/22/21 #21
3/1/21 #16
King Reaches First 100-Yard Receiving Game
Newcomer Johnny King posted the first 100-yard receiving game of his Southeast Missouri career when he caught seven passes for 115 yards and a touchdown at Eastern Illinois (Feb. 28). King scored his second touchdown of the season on a 17-yard reception with 1:28 left to play in the second quarter. He has caught a touchdown pass in each of his first two games as a Redhawk. King has nine receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns as SEMO's leading receiver thus far. He ranks fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference in receiving yards per game (74.5) and fifth in receptions per game (4.5).
Bunch Clears 300 Passing Yards
In his first career Ohio Valley Conference start, quarterback Andrew Bunch threw for 302 yards and one touchdown at Eastern Illinois (Feb. 28). Bunch completed 23-of-37 passes and did not throw an interception. He also completed five passes of 25 or more yards against the Panthers. Bunch leads the OVC in both passing average (177.5 ypg) and total offense (243 ypg).
Two For Me, Two For You
Running backs Zion Custis and Geno Hess each scored two rushing touchdowns in Southeast Missouri's first win of the spring at Eastern Illinois (Feb. 28). Custis scored the game's first touchdown on a 9-yard run and hit paydirt on a 1-yard plunge in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Hess scored from a yard out early in the second quarter and had an 8-yard TD run in the third quarter. Both Custis and Hess now have three games with multiple rushing touchdowns in their careers. Hess leads the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring (9 ppg) and scoring (TDs) (3).
Fast Scoring
Southeast Missouri scored three of its touchdowns at Eastern Illinois (Feb. 28) in less than a minute. SEMO's first two touchdowns came in 38 and 46 seconds, respectively. Al Young's interception return for a 25-yard touchdown was the other score.
Only Fall Contest
Southeast Missouri was one of four Ohio Valley Conference teams that played at least one football game in the fall. SEMO made a close trip to longtime rival Southern Illinois on Oct. 30. Combined, OVC schools were 6-11 in the fall with Jacksonville State going 3-1, Eastern Kentucky finishing 3-6, SEMO going 0-1 and Austin Peay posting an 0-3 mark.
Approaching 2,000
Zion Custis is approaching 2,000 all-purpose yards in his career. Custis (1,949) is 51 yards away from reaching that mark. He has 1,121 rushing yards, 57 receiving yards and 771 kick return yards.
OVC Leader
Entering this week, Southeast Missouri leads the Ohio Valley Conference in four statistical categories. SEMO is the league-leader in scoring offense (32 ppg), total offense (404 ypg), rushing offense (214 ypg) and punt return average (7.8 ypr).
Matukewicz vs. Murray State
Tom Matukewicz is 4-2 against Murray State. Matukewicz has defeated the Racers the most of any Ohio Valley Conference opponent along with Austin Peay (4-2) and Tennessee Tech (4-2).
Hood in First-Year as Racers Head Coach
First-year Murray State head coach Dean Hood starts his second Ohio Valley Conference head coaching stint. Hood was the head coach at Eastern Kentucky from 2008-2015 before he went on to serve in assistant coaching roles at Charlotte (2016-17) and Kentucky (2017-19). He is 7-1 all-time against SEMO. The only time the Redhawks beat Hood as an OVC head coach was in 2010 (40-21, Oct. 23, Cape Girardeau, Mo.).
About Murray State
Murray State is in its 95th season of football with no stranger to the Ohio Valley Conference at the helm. Dean Hood enters his first year as the Racers head coach. Hood was head coach at Eastern Kentucky for eight years (2008-15) where he won a pair of OVC Championships, appeared in three FCS Playoffs and won a total of 55 games. In 2019, MSU is 1-0 in the OVC after beating UT Martin, 14-10, in its spring opener on Feb. 28. Preseason All-OVC return specialist Malik Honeycutt is back after missing the 2019 campaign with an injury. Honeycutt was an All-American in 2018 after averaging 35.2 yards per kickoff return, including a 79-yard touchdown with three seconds left to upset nationally-ranked Southeast Missouri. Linebacker Alec Long is another player to watch for the Racers this season. Long made nine starts and recorded 52 tackles and three sacks in 2019. He was a Third-Team Phil Steele Freshman All-American.
Matukewicz Momentum
Southeast Missouri is in its seventh year under the direction of Head Coach Tom Matukewicz. Matukewicz led the Redhawks to back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time in program history (9-4 in 2018; 9-4 in 2019). The defending Ohio Valley Conference Champions, SEMO is also coming off back-to-back FCS Playoff appearances. Matukewicz is 34-39 overall and 26-22 in the OVC as the Redhawks head coach.
Games with a Catch
Aaron Alston has caught a pass in 17-straight games dating back to the 2018 season. Alston finished four receptions for 83 yards at Eastern Illinois (Feb. 28).
FBS Transfer Quarterbacks
Andrew Bunch is the fourth quarterback to transfer to Southeast Missouri from a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) school in seven years with Tom Matukewicz at the helm. Bunch moves under center after Daniel Santacaterina (Northern Illinois) started at quarterback the last two seasons. Kyle Snyder (Ohio) and Alex Niznak (Central Michigan) are the other FBS transfer quarterbacks that played at SEMO since 2014.
Senior Driven
Southeast Missouri's current group of 18 seniors is just three victories away from becoming the all-time winningest senior class in program history. This senior class (2017-present) has 22 wins. The senior class from 2016-19 holds the record with 24 victories.
