Gamecocks, Colonels may provide sneak peek of OVC winner

It's still very early into the Ohio Valley Conference schedule and both coaches don't want to place too much emphasis on one game.

But there is no doubting the importance of this week's showdown between Jacksonville State and Eastern Kentucky.

The OVC's top two preseason favorites both won their conference openers Saturday, two-time defending champion Jacksonville State with a tougher-than-expected 24-10 victory at Southeast Missouri State and Eastern Kentucky with a 52-3 home rout of Tennessee Tech.

There will still be a lot of football left to be played after the Gamecocks and Colonels square off in Jacksonville, Ala., but the winner will certainly have a major leg up toward the title.

"It's a very big game, and it will have some impact on the conference race, but it's really early to put such a bearing on one game," Eastern Kentucky coach Danny Hope said during Tuesday's OVC coaches teleconference. "Whichever team is fortunate enough to win will have a leg up in some ways, but nobody has gone through the league undefeated in some time."

Said Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe, "It'll definitely determine ... we have a preseason favorite, I guess you would call this the season favorite. I think whoever wins it will gain the momentum of being the conference champion ... There's no guarantee obviously."

Pressed a bit further, Crowe added, "I am saying that this is the biggest game ... for what we have planned for, for what we have worked for, we have not played in a game this big since I've been at Jacksonville State."

The OVC champion has had one loss each of the past three seasons, with a tie for the title during one of those years. Prior to that, the conference winner went undefeated in 10 of 11 seasons.

Considering that the last time the OVC champion had two losses was in 1962, history indicates that the best the loser of Jacksonville State-Eastern Kentucky can hope for is a title tie.

While the Gamecocks have won both championships since joining the OVC in 2003, the Colonels have finished second both years, winding up just one game behind Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks are this year's preseason favorites, with the Colonels ranked No. 2.

"We've been side by side in the league with a very thin line separating us the last two years," Crowe said.

Coincidentally, Jacksonville State and Eastern Kentucky both picked up their first overall wins of the season Saturday after each started out 0-3 against rugged nonconference schedules.

Another UTM milestone

Two weeks ago, Tennessee-Martin won its OVC opener for the first time since 1995 by routing Tennessee State 42-20.

Saturday, the Skyhawks reached three overall victories for the first time since 1995 when they rallied for a 31-28 nonconference win at Gardner-Webb.

Matt Griffin continues to make solid progress in his third year as coach at Tennessee-Martin, which finished either last or tied for last in the OVC each of the past nine seasons, claiming just three conference wins during that time.

Tennessee-Martin posted one OVC win in each of Griffin's first two seasons after having gone six consecutive years without a conference victory.

And the Skyhawks also claimed two overall wins in each of Griffin's first two seasons. Prior to this year, that had matched their most overall victories since the 1995 team went 5-6.

This week's games

Jacksonville State and Eastern Kentucky will play in the OVC's highlight game this week, but two other conference matchups are on tap, including Thursday's contest between Southeast Missouri State and Samford.

While the Redhawks (0-4, 0-1) played Jacksonville State tough in their league opener, the Bulldogs (1-3, 0-1) were hammered 43-14 at Eastern Illinois.

Also, Murray State (1-2) plays its first conference game, visiting Tennessee Tech (1-3, 0-1).

Murray State went outside the OVC Saturday and was destroyed 42-0 at Illinois State. The Racers, who gained just 135 yards and allowed 469 yards, suffered their first shutout since 1991.

Tennessee State (1-3, 0-1), which lost to nonconference opponent Florida A&M 12-7 Saturday, has another nonleague game this week, playing North Carolina A&T in Indianapolis.

Eastern Illinois (2-1, 1-0) and Tennessee-Martin (3-1, 1-0) are both off this week.

Players of the week

Eastern Kentucky sophomore quarterback Josh Greco is the OVC offensive player of the week after leading the rout of Tennessee Tech.

Greco threw for career highs in yards (323) and touchdowns (four) while completing 21 of 30 passes. His four touchdown passes tied a school single-game record.

Tennessee-Martin senior cornerback Jason Coleman earned the league's defensive award after having 11 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery against Gardner-Webb.

Also gaining weekly league honors were Jacksonville State sophomore wide receiver Taurean Rhetta (special teams) and Eastern Illinois freshman wide receiver Adam Kesler (newcomer).

Rhetta blocked two punts, one being returned for a touchdown, against Southeast Missouri State. He also caught two passes for 38 yards.

Kesler accounted for 134 all-purpose yards against Samford, including a team-high five pass receptions for 38 yards.