BG will be defending Doyt Perry Stadium Saturday against the Murray State Racers, a Football Championship Subdivision opponent, following their loss against the Indiana Hoosiers this past weekend.
The Family Weekend matchup marks the third straight season BG has hosted a FCS opponent, but it is the first time that the FCS opponent has had a win under its belt before coming to BG.
When the Morgan State University Bears played the Falcons in 2011, they were 0-1. Then in 2012, the University of Rhode Island Rams came into the BG matchup 0-3 and finished the season 0-11.
Murray State is currently on a two-game winning streak and its record is 2-1. They were defeated by the University of Missouri Tigers 58-14 in the first week of the season, but defeated NAIA member Campbellsville 83-14 in week two and Missouri State 41-38 this past weekend.
“This is certainly a team in the upper half [of FCS],” head coach Dave Clawson said. “They have a head coach who really knows what he’s doing with offense. They are very creative. They play at a fast tempo. He’s not afraid to run trick plays anywhere on the field.”
Murray State is a team that consists of many Football Bowl Subdivision transfer players. Since a FBS player can transfer to FCS or lower and not take a one-year penalty, players come to Murray State if they don’t get a lot of playing time or other reasons.
Some players on Murray State’s roster have transferred from Division I schools including Ohio State University, the University of South Carolina, the University of Mississippi, the University of Kentucky, the University of Memphis, the University of South Alabama, the University of Louisville, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, the University of Arkansas, the University of Iowa and Middle Tennessee State University.
BG recorded its first loss this past weekend in a lopsided game at Indiana University. The Hoosiers defeated the Falcons 42-10.
“We’re kind of playing with a chip on our shoulder,” defensive lineman Taylor Royster said. “We know we can play better than that. We just didn’t execute the way we were supposed to.”
The matchup with Murray State marks the first of three-straight games at home for the Falcons. The University of Akron Zips come to BG on Sept. 28 and the University of Massachusetts Minutemen for Homecoming on Oct. 5.
The 2-1 Falcons kickoff against the Racers Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Doyt Perry Stadium.
