The 2019 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team represented Eastern Kentucky University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Mark Elder and played their home games at Roy Kidd Stadium as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 7–5, 5–3 in OVC play to finish in fourth place. Elder was fired following the season. He finished with a record of 21–24.[1]
Preseason
Preseason coaches' poll
The OVC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 22, 2019. The Colonels were picked to finish in third place.[2]
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Jacksonville State | 135 (15) |
| 2 | Southeast Missouri State | 115 |
| 3 | Eastern Kentucky | 99 |
| 4 | Austin Peay | 84 |
| 5 | Tennessee State | 75 |
| 6 | UT Martin | 58 |
| 7 | Murray State | 55 |
| 8 | Eastern Illinois | 38 |
| 9 | Tennessee Tech | 16 |
Preseason All-OVC team
The Colonels had three players at three positions selected to the preseason all-OVC team.[3]
| Offense Daryl McCleskey Jr. – RB | Defense Aaron Patrick – DL Leodis Moore III – DB |
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|
| | 7:00 p.m. | Valparaiso* | | ESPN+ | W 53–7 | 11,130 |
| September 7 | 7:00 p.m. | at Louisville* | | ACCN Extra | L 0–42 | 48,808 |
| September 14 | 1:00 p.m. | at Indiana State* | | ESPN+ | L 7–19 | 4,416 |
| September 21 | 1:00 p.m. | at Presbyterian* | | ESPN+ | W 35–10 | 2,152 |
| September 28 | 6:00 p.m. | Tennessee State | - Roy Kidd Stadium
- Richmond, KY
| ESPN+ | W 42–16 | 8,861 |
| October 5 | 3:00 p.m. | UT Martin | - Roy Kidd Stadium
- Richmond, KY
| ESPN3 | L 28–38 | 11,260 |
| October 19 | 3:00 p.m. | at Murray State | | ESPN+ | W 34–27 | 9,029 |
| October 26 | 3:00 p.m. | at Eastern Illinois | | ESPN+ | W 33–6 | 4,000 |
| November 2 | 1:00 p.m. | Austin Peay | - Roy Kidd Stadium
- Richmond, KY
| ESPN+ | L 21–28 OT | 7,330 |
| November 9 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 17 Southeast Missouri State | | ESPN3 | L 31–38 | 3,750 |
| November 16 | 1:00 p.m. | Tennessee Tech | - Roy Kidd Stadium
- Richmond, KY
| ESPN+ | W 22–10 | 2,987 |
| November 23 | 2:00 p.m. | at Jacksonville State | | ESPN3 | W 29–23 | 14,477 |
- *Non-conference game
Homecoming- Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Eastern time
|
[4]
Game summaries
Valparaiso
| | | | | | Total |
| Crusaders | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Colonels | 15 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 53 |
At Louisville
| | | | | | Total |
| Colonels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cardinals | 14 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
At Indiana State
| | | | | | Total |
| Colonels | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Sycamores | 3 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 19 |
At Presbyterian
| | | | | | Total |
| Colonels | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
| Blue Hose | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Tennessee State
| | | | | | Total |
| Tigers | 3 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 16 |
| Colonels | 7 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
UT Martin
| | | | | | Total |
| Skyhawks | 7 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
| Colonels | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
At Murray State
| | | | | | Total |
| Colonels | 7 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 34 |
| Racers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
At Eastern Illinois
| | | | | | Total |
| Colonels | 7 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 33 |
| Panthers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
Austin Peay
| | | | | | | Total |
| Governors | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Colonels | 10 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 21 |
At Southeast Missouri State
| | | | | | Total |
| Colonels | 7 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| No. 17 Redhawks | 7 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 38 |
Tennessee Tech
| | | | | | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Colonels | 7 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 22 |
At Jacksonville State
| | | | | | Total |
| Colonels | 6 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 29 |
| Gamecocks | 6 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: RV = Received votes | Week |
|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
|---|
| STATS FCS | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| Coaches | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
References
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| Venues | |
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| Bowls & rivalries | |
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| Culture & lore | - The Colonel
- "Rally Maroon and White"
- Marching Colonels
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| People | |
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| Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |