Defending champ Jacksonville St. wins big opening test

Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe knows his Gamecocks still have plenty of hurdles ahead of them as they chase their second straight Ohio Valley Conference championship.

But the Gamecocks certainly took a major step toward that goal Saturday when they opened OVC play with a 30-23 victory at preseason favorite Eastern Kentucky.

The Gamecocks, who improved to 3-0 overall, boast the nation's longest regular-season winning streak at nine games. They also broke into the national rankings for the first time this week, at No. 22, as the OVC is again represented in the polls for the first time since the season's opening week.

Speaking during Tuesday's weekly OVC coaches teleconference, Crowe said he believes Saturday's triumph again stamps the Gamecocks as a prime title contender during just their second season in the league.

"I do," Crowe said. "Anybody that can go to Eastern Kentucky, with their tradition and being picked to win the league, anybody will have a hard time winning there. I think that having done that, we've affirmed our legitimacy as a contender again.

"We found out something about ourselves. I think we're more certain now of our intentions, and our expectations are higher for having gone there and accomplished that."

Up next for the Gamecocks is Murray State, another squad that captured its conference opener. The Racers posted a surprisingly easy 34-15 home victory over Tennessee Tech, but coach Joe Pannunzio believes his squad will have to step up its game to win in Jacksonville, Ala.

"I don't see an area they're weak," Pannunzio said. "We're going to have to play our best game of the season."

Southeast Missouri State University is the other OVC team that won its league opener Saturday. In one of the wildest conference games in years, the Indians notched their first victory of the season by outlasting visiting Samford 51-48 in four overtimes.

"It was a big win for us and we needed it," Southeast coach Tim Billings said. "We were fortunate. We beat a very good football team."

Tennessee State is also 1-0 in conference play, having beaten Tennessee-Martin on Sept. 9. The Tigers suffered their first loss of the season Saturday as Florida A&M prevailed 21-15 in non-league action.

Two other non-conference games Saturday resulted in a split for the OVC.

Eastern Illinois, the lone team to have not yet opened its league schedule, gained its first victory of the season by winning at Division I-A Eastern Michigan 31-28.

Tennessee-Martin fell at Indiana State 41-24 as the OVC finished winless for the second straight season in its challenge against the Gateway Conference. Gateway squads went 6-0 against the OVC this year after going 8-0 in 2003.

The rest of this week's schedule has Samford hosting Eastern Kentucky, Southeast visiting Eastern Illinois and Tennessee Tech hosting Tennessee-Martin. In a non-conference game, Tennessee State faces South Carolina State in Indianapolis.

Players of the week

Despite piling up a school-record 492 yards of total offense in a brilliant, one-man show at Southeast, Samford quarterback Ray Nelson somewhat surprisingly did not win the league's offensive player of the week award.

That honor went to Jacksonville State tailback Oscar Bonds, who rushed for a career-high 150 yards on 31 carries and scored three touchdowns against Eastern Kentucky.

The Gamecocks also captured the weekly defensive honor as linebacker Lamarcus Rowell recovered two fumbles, recorded a sack and had five tackles.

Injured player improves

Tennessee Tech wide receiver Drew Hixon was taken off a ventilator Friday and is breathing on his own, according to a spokesman for St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Fla. Hixon remains unconscious, but his status has been upgraded from critical to serious.

Hixon has been in a coma since being injured during the Eagles' Sept. 11 game at South Florida.