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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Morehead State football team is ready for its home opener Saturday at 7 p.m. ET versus Kentucky Christian. Fans are encouraged to wear white for the White Out to honor the memory of former offensive coordinator Craig Mullins.
Saturday's game can be heard live on the Eagle Sports Radio Network and the Eagle Empire App. The game is also being broadcast live on WYMT's This TV Network (Hazard). The Ohio Valley Conference Digital Network and EagleVision will stream the game live online.
The Eagles (0-2) will be facing an 0-2 NAIA KCU team. The teams have only met once in their histories, with MSU claiming a 67-0 season-opening win in 2011.
Pregame activities include a concert by Halfway to Hazard in the AAC parking lot at 4:45 p.m. ET and the freshmen run prior to MSU coming out. The University Bookstore is also sponsoring the Monday Morning Quarterback promotion. Fans can receive discounts on Monday at the bookstore on MSU gear and gifts depending on the total points MSU scores (up to 45 percent).
Head Coach
Rob Tenyer was encouraged by last week's performance at VMI.
"IÂ told our team right after that loss last week that we need to bounce back," he said. "We have. Our mental and physical preparation has been excellent this week. Our team is so honored that we can play for Coach Mullins this week. We know he'll be with us in spirit. I expect our team to make a lot of improvements on both sides of the ball now that we are in week three."
Morehead State's offense has been highlighted by a prolific passing game so far. The Eagles rank eighth in the nation with 335 yards per game. Junior quarterback
Austin Gahafer leads the Pioneer Football League with 310 yards per game within the spread offense. Junior receiver
Jake Raymond and senior
Justin Cornwall have been the most active. Raymond leads the conference with 10.5 catches per game and has back-to-back 100-yard efforts, while Cornwall registered a career-best 154 yards on nine balls last week.
The Knights lost 47-7 to Duquesne to open their 2015 campaign and fell 52-3 at Reinhardt (Ga.) last week. Tenyer expects KCU to throw some offensive wrinkles at his defensive unit.
"The do have some talent, so I told our team no matter who we play we cannot overlook them. They have an athletic dual-threat quarterback, and I expect them to do some things on offense we haven't seen. We have to be mentally ready, and I think we will."
The defense is led by senior cornerback
Eric Pugh, who made 18 tackles last week and came within one of the school record. MSU also nabbed four interceptions.
"We had some great takeaways last week, and I just want to see some more consistency with our defense," Tenyer said. "If we can limit the big plays on rushing and passing, we'll be OK. We are tackling so much better this year."
Pugh gave credit to the rest of the 10 guys on his side of the ball.
"If I am making a lot of tackles, then the other guys are doing their jobs well too," he said. "I give credit to all my teammates because we are a unit. It's not just me, everyone is making good plays."
Updates will be available throughout the contest on Twitter (@MSUEaglesLive) and Facebook.com/MSUEagles.
