COLONELS EXPECTED TO MARCH TO TITLE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- If any team other than Eastern Kentucky wins the 1998 Ohio Valley Conference football title, then it will be a major surprise.

At least that was the consensus among the league's head football coaches and sports information directors when the OVC preseason poll was announced Friday morning during the league's annual media day at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Eastern Kentucky, which captured its record 18th OVC football championship last season, was a near unanimous choice to win another title. The Colonels earned 13 of a possible 16 first-place votes.

Eastern Illinois and Murray State are expected to be the Colonels' primary challengers. The Panthers received one first-place vote and were picked to finish second while the Racers got the other two first-place votes and were tabbed for third.

Rounding out the predicted order of finish were Middle Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State, Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee-Martin.

"It's great to be picked first but every Saturday you better be ready to play," said Eastern Kentucky coach Roy Kidd.

Eastern Kentucky has 14 starters returning, including nine on offense, from a team that went 8-4 overall last year, 7-0 in the OVC and made its 11th trip to the Division I-AA playoffs in the past 12 years.

Kidd tried to downplay his team's prospects, saying the Colonels have plenty of holes to fill, including at quarterback.

But he likely won't get much sympathy from the rest of the league because the Colonels recently landed UNLV transfer Jon Denton, a record-setting quarterback who threw for more than 6,000 yards over the past two seasons.

Eastern Illinois, which has been one of the OVC's top teams since joining the league in 1996, returns just nine starters, but that didn't stop the Panthers from being picked to challenge for the title.

Panthers' coach Bob Spoo, whose team went 8-3 (5-2 OVC) last year, has numerous holes to fill, including at quarterback.

"That (quarterback) is going to be a serious problem," he said. "We've got two contending, but neither has played much."

Quarterback shouldn't be a problem for Murray State, which was 7-4 (5-2) a year ago.

Racers' coach Denver Johnson has three Division I-A quarterback transfers on his roster, with the likely starter being Justin Fuente, who started at Oklahoma the past two seasons.

Murray State returns just three starters on offense and must replace virtually its entire line. But defense shouldn't be a problem as eight starters are back from a unit that ranked second nationally last year.

"We're excited about the season, just like everybody else here is," said Johnson.

Middle Tennessee hopes to rebound before moving up to the I-A level in 1999. Coach Boots Donnelly's Raiders (4-6 overall, 2-5 OVC) suffered only their second losing season since 1980 last year.

The Raiders return 19 starters but, like many of the OVC teams, must replace a talented quarterback, in this case Jonathan Quinn, who was taken by Jacksonville in the third round of the NFL draft.

"We have a lot of 'em (players) returning, but sometimes that's not so good," quipped Donnelly.

Tennessee Tech (6-5, 4-3) hopes to continue its resurgence under coach Jim Hennigan. The Golden Eagles will be looking to take advantage of a schedule that features seven home games.

The Eagles return 19 starters but must also come up with a new quarterback.

Tennessee State (4-7, 4-3) and coach L.C. Cole have 16 starters back, led by wide receiver Tyrone Butterfield, the OVC's co-offensive player of the year with 59 catches for 1,053 yards.

Southeast Missouri (4-7, 1-6) and Tennessee-Martin (1-10, 0-7) hope to avoid their finishes of a year ago, when they were seventh and eighth, respectively.

Coach John Mumford's Indians return 14 starters while coach Jim Marshall's Skyhawks have 15 regulars back.

OVC PRESEASON FOOTBALL TEAM

First Team

Offense

Leon Murray Tennessee St. QB

Derick Logan E. Kentucky RB

Justin Lynch E. Illinois RB

Rondel Menendez E. Kentucky WR

Tyrone Butterfield Tennessee St. WR

Gary Davis Middle Tennessee TE

Chris Kiefer SE Missouri C

Josh Hunter E. Kentucky OG

Deshawn Thompson Tennessee St. OG

Tyrone Hopson E. Kentucky OT

Wes Gallagher Tennessee Tech OT

Keegan Ray Middle Tennessee PK

Defense

Branon Vaughn Tennessee Tech DL

Marcus Stepp Murray St. DL

Eddie Arnell Tennessee Tech DL

Troy Baglio SE Missouri DL

Chris Vaughn Murray St. LB

Armand Williams Tennessee St. LB

Charles Tinsley E. Kentucky LB

Fred Hambrick SE Missouri DB

Chris Watson E. Illinois DB

Joshua Symonette Tennessee Tech DB

Antwan Perry E. Illinois DB

Ashley Johnson Tennessee St. P