2019 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

2019 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	7–5 (5–3 OVC)
Head coach	Mark Elder (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Adam Austin (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Kurt Maddix (4th season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Shannon Morrison (4th season)
Home stadium	Roy Kidd Stadium

2019 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 8 Austin Peay +^		7	–	1					9	–	3
No. 17 Southeast Missouri State +^		7	–	1					9	–	3
UT Martin		6	–	2					7	–	5
Eastern Kentucky		5	–	3					7	–	5
Tennessee Tech		3	–	5					6	–	6
Jacksonville State		3	–	5					6	–	6
Murray State		2	–	6					4	–	8
Tennessee State		2	–	6					3	–	9
Eastern Illinois		1	–	7					1	–	11
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

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.

Preseason

Preseason coaches' poll

The OVC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 22, 2019. The Colonels were picked to finish in third place.

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.

Offense

Daryl McCleskey Jr. – RB

Defense

Aaron Patrick – DL

Leodis Moore III – DB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	7:00 p.m.	Valparaiso*	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 53–7	11,130
September 7	7:00 p.m.	at Louisville*	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	ACCN Extra	L 0–42	48,808
September 14	1:00 p.m.	at Indiana State*	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	L 7–19	4,416
September 21	1:00 p.m.	at Presbyterian*	Bailey Memorial Stadium Clinton, SC	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	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 34–27	9,029
October 26	3:00 p.m.	at Eastern Illinois	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	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	Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO	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	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	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

Game summaries

Valparaiso

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crusaders	0	0	7	0	7
Colonels	15	17	7	14	53

See also: 2019 Valparaiso Crusaders football team

At Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	0	0	0	0	0
Cardinals	14	0	14	14	42

See also: 2019 Louisville Cardinals football team

At Indiana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	0	0	7	0	7
Sycamores	3	7	0	9	19

See also: 2019 Indiana State Sycamores football team

At Presbyterian

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	7	14	0	14	35
Blue Hose	10	0	0	0	10

See also: 2019 Presbyterian Blue Hose football team

Tennessee State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	3	6	7	0	16
Colonels	7	14	7	14	42

See also: 2019 Tennessee State Tigers football team

UT Martin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Skyhawks	7	10	14	7	38
Colonels	7	7	7	7	28

See also: 2019 UT Martin Skyhawks football team

At Murray State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	7	10	17	0	34
Racers	3	7	7	10	27

See also: 2019 Murray State Racers football team

At Eastern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	7	7	3	16	33
Panthers	0	0	0	6	6

See also: 2019 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

Austin Peay

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Governors	7	0	7	7	7	28
Colonels	10	0	0	11	0	21

See also: 2019 Austin Peay Governors football team

At Southeast Missouri State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	7	17	7	0	31
No. 17 Redhawks	7	7	7	17	38

See also: 2019 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football team

Tennessee Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	7	0	3	0	10
Colonels	7	9	0	6	22

See also: 2019 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football team

At Jacksonville State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	6	3	14	6	29
Gamecocks	6	3	7	7	23

See also: 2019 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team

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