Defense gives Indians optimism despite loss

ATHENS, Ohio -- Southeast Missouri State University failed to win its opener, but the Indians received a stout defensive performance that offered hope for the sometimes maligned unit.

Indian defenders emphasized during preseason practice that the pressure is on to come through and match the squad's high-powered offense if Southeast is to win its first-ever Ohio Valley Conference title.

The defense did considerably more Thursday than the offense, which sputtered much of the night -- particularly near the goal line -- during a 17-3 loss at Division I-A Ohio University.

Southeast, which allowed an average of 387 yards and 29 points per game last year, gave up just 308 yards to the Bobcats. And Ohio's 17 points came on drives that totaled only 72 yards -- none of them more than 32 yards.

"I hope our defense didn't look good because Ohio's offense is that bad," Southeast coach Tim Billings said. "But really, I think we've gotten a lot better defensively."

Southeast defenders didn't play flawlessly Thursday -- Ohio rushed for 227 yards and averaged a healthy 4.4 yards per attempt -- but they consider the opening performance a step in the right direction.

"I think we made strides on defense," said linebacker Ricky Farmer, who recovered two fumbles. "I expect us to play this way all year, if not better."

End Ryan Roth said he's confident that what happened to Southeast's normally potent offense Thursday is simply an aberration.

"I think we've matured a lot since last year," he said. "We had flashes of greatness tonight, and if we can eliminate the mistakes, we can do big things this year."

The Indians averaged 447 yards and nearly 35 points per game last season. Against Ohio, they had just 300 yards, managed only a short field goal and faltered on several prime scoring opportunities.

"We have the utmost confidence in our offense," Roth said. "We know they're going to get it together."

Billings gave credit to Ohio's defenders -- while not regarded as an overall good I-A team entering the season, the Bobcats' defense is considered by far the strength of the squad -- but said the Indians were plenty to blame.

"They have a really good defense, probably the best we'll see this year," Billings said. "But our offense should play a lot better than that. There's no way we should only score three points, especially with all the chances we had."

Billings doesn't think the setback will dim the confidence of the nation's 20th-ranked Division I-AA squad and OVC favorite. In fact, Billings said playing a I-A team to start the season probably helped the Indians more than if they had rolled over an outmatched lower-division squad heading into their Sept. 6 home opener against rival Southern Illinois.

"I don't think it will hurt our confidence at all," Billings said. "One good thing about a game like this: It showed our weaknesses and some of the things we have to work on.

"We might not have found that out if we had a really easy game to start the season."