Colonels emerge as conference favorites

~ Eastern Kentucky beat the OVC's top two preseason teams.

Eastern Kentucky has twice as many conference titles any other current conference member with 18 Ohio Valley Conference championships.

With 17 Division I-AA playoff appearances, the Colonels have six more than any other current conference member.

But over the past decade, that tradition has not been nearly as glamorous for EKU, whose last OVC title and playoff berth came in 1997.

Things might be on the verge of changing for EKU this season, thanks in large part to last week's win at two-time defending OVC champion Eastern Illinois.

That victory stamped the Colonels as the league favorite heading into today's game with visiting Southeast Missouri State.

"I really haven't given it a whole lot of thought," said EKU coach Danny Hope, when asked if the Colonels now carry the league's bull's-eye on their backs. "There is a lot of football to be played. The conference race is on."

The No. 23 Colonels, who moved into the national ranking this week for the first time in 2007, improved to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in OVC play by holding off Eastern Illinois 28-21.

EKU already has beaten the two teams picked at the top of the OVC preseason poll -- No. 1 Eastern Illinois and No. 2 Jacksonville State. Both wins were on the road.

"We're in a good situation in that we've gone on the road and won over two of the top teams in the conference," Hope said. "We're certainly in control of our own destiny in a lot of ways."

Now the Colonels, the conference's preseason No. 4 squad, will try to avoid an upset at the hands of preseason No. 8 Southeast (2-3, 0-2).

While EKU is riding an amazing streak of 29 consecutive winning seasons, Southeast has had just two winning records since moving up to Division I-AA in 1991.

Plus, the Redhawks suffered a major blow this week when junior tailback Timmy Holloman was ruled ineligible indefinitely after the university announced that he had violated unspecified NCAA eligibility rules.

Holloman was No. 2 in the OVC and No. 8 nationally in rushing yards per game, having gained 655 yards. He scored six of Southeast's nine touchdowns.

But Hope is not about to dismiss the Redhawks, since he remembers all too well what happened the last three times Southeast visited Richmond, Ky.

Southeast trails the all-time series with EKU 15-2, but both wins came at Roy Kidd Stadium, in 2002 and 2003.

And the last time Southeast played at EKU, in 2005, the Colonels needed a last-second touchdown to pull out a one-point victory.

Asked if EKU might have a letdown after last week's big win, Hope said: "I don't think so because Southeast Missouri has come into Roy Kidd Stadium and won two of the last three times.

"The last time we needed a last-second touchdown. We better get ready to play."

Southeast has lost two straight games, but the Redhawks probably had their best performance of the season against Eastern Illinois on Sept. 29.

The Redhawks led 16-14 in the third quarter before the Panthers scored the final 17 points to rally for a 31-16 victory.

"I'm still trying to figure out where we are, but we competed very well in the last game," said Southeast coach Tony Samuel, whose squad had an open date last week. "I think we're making progress, that's the good thing."

Samuel hopes that progress continues today as the Redhawks chase after a significant upset without their top offensive player.