EIU FINALLY BREAKS INTO WIN COLUMN (OVC NOTES)

The schedule-makers sure haven't done Eastern Illinois University's football team any favors so far this season.

For the third time in five weeks, the Division I-AA Panthers will facing a Division I-A squad when they head to the sunshine state to play Central Florida Saturday.

Already this season, the Panthers have played at Central Michigan and Hawaii, losing by respective scores of 33-17 and 31-27. Also tossed into the mix was a 34-6 home whipping administered by Southern Illinois.

But the Panthers were able to finally get into the win column last Saturday as they picked up a closer-than-it-sounds 42-21 victory over Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee-Martin.

Eastern Illinois and Tennessee-Martin were tied 21-21 at halftime and the Panthers led by just a touchdown with three minutes left before they came up with two late insurance scores.

* By virtue of Eastern Illinois' win over Tennessee-Martin, The Panthers are one of only three undefeated teams in league play, primarily because there have been only a handful of OVC games played so far.

Western Kentucky, at 2-0, is the early OVC leader, although the Hilltoppers have so far only played the teams picked to finish in the bottom two spots in Southeast Missouri and Tennessee-Martin.

Murray State, which has beaten Southeast Missouri, and Eastern Illinois are both 1-0, so it's apparent that the power in the league has definitely not been determined yet.

On the other end of things, Southeast Missouri and Tennessee-Martin are both 0-2 while heavy favorite Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech have yet to play a conference game.

That will change for two of the squads Saturday as Eastern Kentucky visits Southeast Missouri and Tennessee Tech travels to Tennessee-Martin.

Tennessee State will have to wait one more week as the Tigers play at Alabama A&M.

There is one marquee OVC matchup on tap for Saturday as Murray State travels to Western Kentucky in a traditional rivalry game that has been made even more interesting by the fact the Hilltoppers' rejoined the league this season after an 18-year absence.

* The OVC continues to have two nationally-ranked teams this week.

Tennessee State, 3-0, is seventh according to The Sports Network while 3-1 Eastern Kentucky is 21st.

At 3-1, Western Kentucky is the only other OVC squad with a winning overall record.

Tennessee Tech is 1-1, Murray State is 1-2, Eastern Illinois and Tennessee-Martin are both 1-3, and Southeast Missouri is 0-4.

* Tennessee State owns the second-longest regular-season winning streak in the nation among I-AA teams as the Tigers have won 11 straight games.

Patriot League member Lehigh tops the list with 15 consecutive regular-season victories.

* Eastern Illinois tailback Jabarey McDavid and Western Kentucky linebacker Melvin Wisham have earned the OVC's offensive and defensive player of the week honors for their performances last Saturday.

McDavid rushed for a career-high 179 yards on 21 carries to help lead the Panthers past Tennessee-Martin.

Wisham registered 10 tackles, including nine unassisted, as the Hilltoppers knocked off Southeast Missouri 21-10.