COLLEGE FOOTBALL: BILLINGS CONCENTRATES ON THE POSITIVE SIGNS SHOWN BY INDIANS

Southeast Missouri State University football coach Tim Billings has been both discouraged and encouraged so far by his first season in charge of the Indians.

On the one hand, Billings is discouraged that the Indians have only a 3-6 record and -- with just two games remaining -- are assured of a losing season.

On the other hand, Billings is encouraged that the Indians have legitimately been in four of their losses and were hanging close heading into the fourth quarter against Western Kentucky and Eastern Illinois, the Ohio Valley Conference's top two teams.

Speaking at his weekly media conference Monday, Billings said the way the Indians have battled some of the squads on their schedule shows him that they're not all that far off from being a good team.

"Against Western Kentucky and Eastern Illinois, the best teams in our conference, we've had a chance to win both games going into the fourth quarter," he said. "It shows you that we're not where we want to be, but we're not so far away that we can't take a shot at the OVC title in the next few years.

"It gives us hope for the future, but we still have two games left to play and we'd like to get to 5-6. For recruiting, that's a lot better than 3-8."

Billings pointed to Saturday's 38-9 loss at Eastern Illinois as an example of the Indians' being close to some of the league's top squads, but not nearly close enough. The Indians trailed just 17-9 late in the third period before fading.

"At times we played well enough to win the football game, even though we lost 38-9," he said. "You sit and look at a few plays and say wow, this is a good football team. Then you look at a few other plays and say this is a poor football team.

"We were very inconsistent on offense, the way we've been this year. Offensively, I think we're a pretty good football team, but we're two or three players away. Defensively, we're playing better, but I think we're also two or three players away."

Although the Indians lose some key seniors this year, the bulk of their starting lineup consists of underclassmen. A big key, said Billings, will be to recruit those several players on both sides of the ball who could possibly help Southeast beat some of the OVC's top teams instead of just playing them tough.

As for the final two games of the season -- this Saturday at Southwest Missouri State and Nov. 18 at Tennessee State -- Billings said a big key will be red-zone production. While Southeast has moved the ball fairly well much of the season, more often than not the Indians have stalled once they get inside the 20-yard line.

"We're going to work on that," he said. "We move the ball well until we get inside the 20. If we could have been successful in the red zone more this year we might be looking at a better record. But we haven't been."

* Southeast players lead the OVC in three statistical categories and several Indians are ranked nationally.

Safety Joe Williams is first in the OVC and second nationally in tackles per game, with 128 tackles for an average of 14.2 per contest.

Punter Jason Witczak is first in the OVC and 10th nationally with an average of 41.4 yards per kick.

Linebacker Corey Mathis is tied for first in the OVC in sacks with six, and he is tied for second in the league and ranks 16th nationally in tackles for loss with 17.

Safety Isaac Powell is 25th nationally in tackles with 106 (11.8 per game).

* Southwest Missouri, the Indians' next opponent, is 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the Gateway Conference.

The Bears, like Southeast, have been in the game against a number of highly-regarded opponents before faltering.

"They're going through some of the pains we are," Billings said. "They're pretty much in the same boat."