Murray State rolls past NAIA rival Pikeville, 59-20
MURRAY, Ky. -- Preston Rice threw two first-half touchdown passes, Jared McCray and Rodney Castille each ran for two more scores and Quinaz Turner returned a first-quarter kickoff 95 yards for a score as Murray State routed in-state, NAIA-rival Pikeville, 59-20 in a season-opener Thursday night.
Pikeville took the opening kick and drove 50 yards in eight plays and Zaniel Phillips connected on a 42-yard field goal to put the Bears up, 3-0, but the Racers took the lead for good on the ensuing kickoff.
Two minutes later Rice found Brion Sanchious from nine-yards out and Gabriel Vicente kicked a 44-yard field goal in the final seconds of the first quarter to put Murray State up, 17-3. McCray scored from the 3 and Jacob Bell pulled in a 38-yard pass from Rice for a 31-3 lead minutes into the second quarter.
Bowen Smith ran in from the 4 and threw a 48-yard strike to Damian Sutton to bring Pikeville back to trail 31-17 at the half.
Castille had two short touchdown runs in the second half and McCray added a 25-yard dash.
Murray State threw for 216 yards and rushed for another 249. Pikeville managed 199 yards through the air but was held to just 46 yards rushing.
College Football News
![]()
Oklahoma Sooners get commitment from junior college QB General Booty
General Booty, who threw for 3,115 yards and 25 TDs at Tyler Junior College, committed to Oklahoma on Saturday.
![]()
Georgia's Smart explains his take on tampering
UGA's Kirby Smart tells The Paul Finebaum Show he is concerned about doing the right thing for athletes facing adversity.
![]()
Alabama's Saban calls for more parity in football
The Crimson Tide's Nick Saban tells The Paul Finebaum Show that he'd like to see a return to the days of a more level playing field in college football.
![]()
Wisconsin assistant Bill Sheridan resigns amid NCAA investigation into Air Force allegations
Wisconsin inside linebackers coach Bill Sheridan, who is under NCAA investigation for alleged recruiting violations as an Air Force assistant coach, has resigned.
![]()
Forget NIL -- these are the real issues college leaders need to solve
You may hear a lot of whining about NIL. But school presidents and college sports power brokers need to focus on the big issue -- the widening gap between the Big Ten and SEC and everybody else, and what that means for the future.
![]()
College football transfer portal: Which teams added and lost the most value?
Using Pro Football Focus metrics, how much did teams actually benefit via the transfer portal?
Division II/III Standings
| TEAM | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| TEAM | CONF | OVR |
2021 Ohio Valley Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |