Alabama teams make a statement

If their first games are any indication, maybe Samford and Jacksonville State won't have a tough transition to the Ohio Valley Conference after all.

Playing their first-ever OVC games Saturday, the league's new members from Alabama put a home-field whipping on two of the conference's preseason favorites.

Samford, picked to finish eighth out of nine teams in the OVC's preseason coaches' poll, kept preseason favorite Southeast Missouri State winless with a 41-31 victory.

The Bulldogs (3-1) built a 35-10 lead early in the second half and then held off a late rally by the Indians (0-5). The triumph avenged last year's 48-24 loss to Southeast in Cape Girardeau.

"It was big, it really was," Samford coach Bill Gray said during Tuesday's weekly OVC teleconference. "It was exciting for us, especially the way we performed last year against that same bunch.

"We were very fortunate to win our first one. Obviously our kids are confident. We feel like we can go out on the field every week and compete with the team on the other side."

Jacksonville State, which tied for fifth in the preseason poll, destroyed perennial OVC power Eastern Kentucky 49-14 to break a two-game losing streak, including a loss to a Division II team. The Gamecocks (2-2) piled up 283 rushing yards to trounce the Colonels (1-4), the preseason No. 4 selection.

"We were searching, we had our backs to the wall, but we had some good things happen and gained a lot of confidence," Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe said.

And those two results were just part of a wild opening week of conference play that saw three of the top four preseason favorites fall in a big way.

The other stunner -- probably more for the margin of victory than the result -- came when host Tennessee Tech ripped defending conference co-champion Murray State 49-24.

Tennessee Tech (2-2), which tied for fifth in the preseason poll, overcame a 17-7 halftime deficit against the Racers (1-4), the preseason No. 2 pick. The Eagles piled up 446 total yards and held the Racers to 220 yards.

"It was important I think for our team to get off to a positive start, especially against a team like Murray State, the defending conference champ," Tennessee Tech coach Mike Hennigan said. "We just have to build off that."

Saturday's other OVC opener went according to form as preseason No. 7 Tennessee State handed No. 9 Tennessee-Martin -- picked to finish last for the eighth straight time -- a 41-10 defeat.

The Tigers (3-2) gained 427 yards and limited Tennessee-Martin (1-4) to 225 yards as they sent the Skyhawks to their 43rd consecutive OVC defeat. The Skyhawks last won an OVC game in 1996 when they beat Southeast 7-6.

So the OVC standings have a strange look, albeit just one game into the conference season. The only team among the expected contenders to not have a loss yet is defending co-champion Eastern Illinois; the preseason No. 3 Panthers (1-3) begin their league schedule this Saturday at Southeast.

Other matchups this Saturday are Samford at Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State at Murray State and Tennessee Tech at Tennessee-Martin.

Crowe correctly pointed out that the OVC upstarts from Alabama face big challenges this week as they play their first conference road games against highly regarded foes.

More will be known about Samford and Jacksonville State after those contests.

Streaking Anthony

Tennessee State tailback Charles Anthony is running away with the OVC rushing title less than halfway through the season.

Anthony, who rushed for 882 yards last year, already has 711 yards this season as he has topped 100 yards in all five games while averaging 6.5 yards per carry. He had 169 yards and scored three touchdowns against Tennessee-Martin. He is averaging 162.2 yards per game.

Although some OVC teams have played just four games, no other player in the league has rushed for more than 365 yards.

Anthony is also solidly ahead in the OVC scoring race. With 11 touchdowns and 66 points, he is averaging 13.2 points per game. No other player is averaging more than nine points a contest.

Extra points

Eastern Illinois had one of the nation's best offenses last season, averaging 35.3 points and 452.6 yards per game. But so far this year, the Panthers are averaging just 12 points and 249.5 yards per game.

Eastern Illinois' 23-7 loss at Indiana State Saturday concluded a challenge series between the OVC and Gateway Conference that saw the powerful Gateway win all eight games.

Murray State faced Tennessee Tech without quarterback Stewart Childress, a four-year starter who missed the game with a knee injury. His status for this week is questionable.