Opponent Breakdown: Murray State Racers Defense

The Racers started the season with a dominant performance against Presbyterian last weekend, holding them to 10 points. Dean Hood’s defense had a rough 2022 season but a few transfers and an offense that should be able to help control the ball should lead to better results in 2023. While the competition wasn’t great in week one, the results are promising for the full season.

The defensive line is pretty light and the little bit of size they do have up front is pretty young. Detoye Adewole is the guy that stood out to me. He is a defensive end who transferred in this year. CJ Barnes is the veteran inside but at 280 pounds, he may have a hard time getting any push against the UofL offensive line.

The Racers run a similar defensive scheme as Louisville with three down linemen and a stand-up defensive end. The linebackers are the best group on the defense from what I saw and Nick Walker is the best player on the defense. Walker is undersized but he can run well and has his nose in the mix a lot against the run. Cody Goatley also made some nice plays last week. He is a player to watch after transferring in from UK a couple of years ago.

Presbyterian had a few nice plays in the passing game against a completely rebuilt defensive backfield for the Racers. Kanyon Walker transferred in from Tulane but outside of his performance, I wasn’t impressed with anyone in the secondary. This should be an opportunity for UofL to play some young guys to get them game reps and build confidence. I would be surprised if there are any struggles in the passing game.