Billings assesses futile 3-8 season, future of program

Southeast finished tied for sixth in the nine-team conference.

By Marty Mishow ~ Southeast Missourian

Whatever the reasons -- and there appear to be plenty -- this was a highly disappointing Southeast Missouri State University football season by any standards.

Southeast's fifth year under coach Tim Billings produced a 3-8 overall record and a 3-5 Ohio Valley Conference mark, which resulted in a sixth-place tie among nine teams.

"I just didn't think we'd be as bad as we were. But we were," Billings said succinctly. "We just have to go back to the drawing board."

Billings believes Southeast can rebound next season, but he knows it won't be easy. Southeast loses 18 seniors and many of them were among the squad's top performers, including its leading passer, receiver, rusher, tackler and scorer, its four-year placekicker, and several premier linemen on both sides of the ball. Of Southeast's six all-conference selections, five are seniors.

"We lost some good players," Billings said. "We've got some good young ones, but we don't have enough."

While Billings thinks Southeast has a solid base of returning talent in place, bringing in quite a few strong recruits who can contribute immediately appears to be a necessity.

"We have a good nucleus, but we've got some holes to fill and I think we'll fill them," he said.

Billings said Southeast will likely sign 30 players for next season -- and expect more of those to be junior college or Division I-A transfers than in the past. Other OVC teams have thrived with that formula in recent years.

"We wanted to go the high school route and we got some really good players, but we don't have enough of them," he said. "We're going to look for more older kids this year, go the junior college route and keep our eye open for more transfers.

"High school kids will still be our emphasis, and we'll probably sign at least 15 high school kids. But we've got to add to our base. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

Billings acknowledged that injuries -- along with a brutal non-conference schedule that resulted in three straight lopsided losses to begin the season -- played a factor in Southeast's tumble after the program looked like it was climbing. But he refuses to make excuses.

"Injuries hurt us, obviously. We had a problem in dropoff. We went from a really good player to not as good as we need," he said. "Everybody is going to have injuries. It's a part of the game, but you can't fall off from No. 1 to No. 2 the way we did this year.

"You can sit and talk about injuries, but that's an excuse, and I'm not good at those."

Billings took over Southeast's struggling program in 2000. After seasons of 3-8 and 4-7 -- and a combined 2-11 OVC record -- 2002 produced a breakthrough 8-4 mark (4-2 OVC) for the program's most wins since 1969.

Even though Southeast went just 5-7 overall last year, it was 5-3 in the OVC and played in what amounted to the league championship game in the regular-season finale, but a loss to Jacksonville State denied the program its first playoff berth on any level.

Then came this season, which tied for the program's fewest overall wins since a 2-9 record in 1992. Southeast's defense -- which was hit the hardest by injuries -- ranked statistically as one of the nation's worst in Division I-AA. Southeast was outscored 404-256 and allowed the most points in school history.

"I felt like we were progressing the right way," Billings said. "Even last year, we went 5-7 but we played for the conference championship. There's no question we had a dropoff this year. [Finishing in] the bottom part of the conference is not good enough."

Financial problems within the entire university have caused Billings' budget to be sliced in recent years. Combine that with mostly unimpressive facilities and Billings said it's probably not realistic for Southeast to be among the OVC's elite teams on a yearly basis and to become a national contender, as he envisioned when he first took over the program.

But, added Billings: "We can be in the top four [in the OVC] every year, and when things go right in certain years, we can compete for the [OVC] title."

Billings said it was noticeable during the season that, at various positions, Southeast was short on talent compared to many of the squads on its schedule.

Billings said Southeast needs to increase its overall team speed and also recruit playmakers on both sides of the ball.

"Offensively, we had very few big plays this year, and defensively, all the big plays were against us," he said. "Every explosive position, we need to try and find a difference maker."

Billings believes two difference makers won't have to be recruited. A pair of touted junior college transfers, cornerback Charles McCoy and tailback John Radney, remained in school after they were declared ineligible for this season.

"Both those guys should really help us," Billings said.

The high-profile position of quarterback is a major question mark heading into the offseason after Andrew Goodenough completed his eligibility. Backup Mike Haley attempted just 15 passes, completing five for 64 yards.

"We'll bring in at least three quarterbacks to go with Mike," Billings said.

Billings said a season like this one will cause him to evaluate the program in every area.

"We're going to evaluate everything, from myself on down," he said.

Asked if this offseason will be his most challenging since taking over the program, Billings didn't hesitate.

"No question, because we really took a step back, and now we have to springboard up," he said.

And Billings believes major improvement next season -- in much the same way Southeast went from 4-7 in 2001 to 8-4 in 2002 -- can be accomplished.

"If I didn't think that, then you won't see me here next year," he said.