TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Indiana State junior tailback Tony West rushed for 217 yards and junior quarterback Reilly Murphy passed for 306 more, but it was not enough as the Sycamores dropped their home opener to Murray State by a score of 59-40 in front of 3,148 fans at Memorial Stadium. ISU falls to 0-3, while the Racers improve to 1-2.

West continued his standout season with 217 yards rushing with a pair of touchdowns, while also scoring once on a pass reception. He finished the day with 255 yards of total offense and three scores. He was a complete workhorse for the Sycamores, accounting for all 85 yards of one Sycamore drive in the first half.

Murphy completed 17-of-35 passes in the contest for 306 yards and a pair of scoring strikes. His long pass completion on the day of 61 yards went to Jerimy Robinson for the Sycamores’ final score of the afternoon.

Carl Berman paced the Sycamores with five catches for 91 yards in defeat. Sam Logan was on the receiving end of four passes for 65 yards. The effort gives Logan 2,063 career receiving yards, a mark which betters the previous school record of 2,048, which was held by Rick Bell (1982-85).

While Bell’s record fell today, a mark belonging to Scott Bridges will not fall anytime soon. Brides connected on 80 consecutive PAT’s during his career, and senior Kyle Hooper was closing in on him by connecting on 76 of his own consecutively. Hooper’s 77^th career PAT attempt was blocked during the third quarter of play to end his streak.

As an offense, the Sycamores accumulated 602 yards of total offense, averaging 7.5 yards per play. ISU gained 296 yards on the ground, but committed five turnovers in the contest.

The Racers ground game, which had averaged just 71 yards per game coming in, amassed 335 yards rushing against the Sycamores and controlled the clock, holding the ball for 36:53 in taking one away from ISU.

ISU was paced defensively by Jayden Everett, who amassed 13 total tackles in the contest. He posted a pair of tackles for loss in the game. Any Jones picked off a Murray State pass, while Donye McCleskey continued his solid freshman campaign with a forced fumble, as well as a fumble recovery.

The Sycamores will return to action next Saturday, when they take to the road to face off against Northern Illinois, an NCAA Division I-A member of the Mid-American Conference. The Huskies will be ISU’s second I-A opponent of the season, having fallen at Purdue in the season opener. Kickoff from DeKalb, Ill., is set for 3:05 p.m. (EST) and will be regionally televised by Comcast Sports Chicago.

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