COLLEGE: SOUTHEAST LOOKS FOR FIRST WIN EVER OVER E. KENTUCKY

Southeast Missouri State University's football team will attempt to reverse a lopsided trend when the Indians play their first Ohio Valley Conference road game of the season tonight.

The Indians have never beaten Eastern Kentucky -- losing all 10 meetings -- and the five games played at Roy Kidd Stadium have been particularly gruesome, the Colonels holding a combined 163-23 scoring edge.

Southeast will try to keep EKU from making it 11 in a row over the Indians when the squads hook up in a 6 p.m. kickoff on the Colonels' field.

"No Southeast team has ever beaten Eastern Kentucky, so we know what kind of a challenge we're going to face against an excellent football team," said Southeast coach Tim Billings.

Both squads lost their Ohio Valley Conference openers Saturday, so tonight's game takes on added importance, particularly for an EKU squad that was picked in the preseason as a solid favorite to capture the league title.

But according to EKU coach Roy Kidd, whose squad is ranked 21st nationally, he still can't understand why the Colonels were so highly regarded to begin with.

"We're a little down," he said. "I tried to tell everybody we're not as good as they thought we were. I was shocked when they picked us to win the conference. You always know your own team a lot better than anybody else does."

Even though the Colonels have not won an OVC championship since 1997, they have the kind of tradition that commands respect. EKU has won 18 OVC titles since 1948 and the Colonels have an amazing string of 22 consecutive winning seasons under the legendary Kidd, who ranks third among active Division I-A or I-AA coaches in wins. He has a 295-113-8 record in his 37th season at EKU.

Kidd's status as one of college football's most revered coaches is evidenced by the fact EKU's stadium is named after him. That honor isn't very often bestowed on an active coach.

"Roy Kidd owns the OVC," said a laughing Billings, who added in a more serious tone, "I've known Roy for a long time. We played them when I was at Marshall (the past 10 years). He's an excellent football coach. He's got a great program in Richmond and that's a tough place to play."

The Colonels, who are 2-1 overall, opened the season with a pair of easy victories, routing Glenville State 41-0 and Indiana State 34-10. But the Colonels began OVC play with a surprising 9-3 home loss to Tennessee Tech.

"The first two games, we won pretty easily and I think maybe we thought we were better than we are," Kidd said. "We were terrible on offense Saturday. We turned the ball over three times and we ran into a fired up team from Tennessee Tech. They just whipped our butts up front. They got after us."

One of the reasons the Colonels have been picked to win the OVC is they returned 15 starters from last year, including some of the top offensive weapons in the league.

Quarterback Waylon Chapman, who Kidd said had a rough outing against Tennessee Tech, passed for more than 1,200 yards a year ago. He returned his top five receivers, led by Alex Bannister and Tyrone Browning, who already have 21 and 10 catches, respectively.

Leading the rushing attack is 222-pound tailback Corey Crume, who gained nearly 1,000 yards last year and already has 397 yards this season to lead the OVC.

"Eastern Kentucky is a lot like Western Kentucky (which beat the Indians 38-14 Saturday). They're a strong, physical team that can run well," Billings said. "They will run it right at you. They'll run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, make you commit to the run, then they'll hit you with the pass.

"They're supposed to win the OVC. They've got very talented players. If we can stop the run, we can stay in the football game. But we have to do some things to stop the run."

Southeast, which is 2-2 overall, has found the going tough against the run so far this season as the Indians are allowing more than 280 yards per game on the ground. But Kidd has come away impressed by what first-year coach Billings and his new staff have done with the program so far.

"They're much better than they have been, no doubt about it. I think they're pretty good," said Kidd. "They've got some good players and they seem to be playing with a lot more enthusiasm."

Both Billings and Kidd believe the OVC is extremely balanced, with the eventual champion not likely to run through the league without a loss.

"I've said all along, whoever wins the conference will have a tough time going undefeated," Kidd said. "The conference is about as balanced as I've seen it. It's wide open."

But Billings knows how tough it will be for any team to win the OVC title with two losses. That's what makes tonight's game so critical for both squads.

"I told our team that I didn't think any team would go through the OVC unbeaten this year, but the loser (tonight) has only a longshot at contending for the title," he said. "It's a really big game for both teams."

* Southeast quarterback Rashad West is questionable for today's game. West is still being bothered by a bruised chest he suffered while making a tackle late in the Western Kentucky game. If West is unable to play, Bobby Brune will start.