'Hawks can end pair of streaks with win

~ Murray State has won 12 straight meetings against winless Southeast.

Southeast Missouri State has not beaten Murray State in football since 1992 -- a string of 12 consecutive losses -- but rarely during that time have the Racers been struggling as much as they are right now.

The Redhawks' goal is to keep Murray State in its funk -- and also pick up their first win of the season -- when the squads square off at 1 p.m. today at Houck Stadium in Southeast's homecoming game.

"Murray State is a big rivalry for us. I'm not sure how big a rivalry it is for them, because they always beat us," Southeast coach Tim Billings said. "It would be great for us to finally win this game."

Southeast (0-7) and Murray State (1-6) are tied for last place in the nine-team Ohio Valley Conference with identical 0-4 league records.

For the Redhawks, although they professed to have high hopes entering the year, their current situation perhaps isn't all that surprising since they were picked eighth in the OVC's preseason poll after also struggling in 2004.

But the Racers, after tying for second in the league last year, were expected to be a top contender. They were picked third in the preseason poll, receiving two first-place votes.

After dropping their OVC opener at Tennessee Tech by 21 points, the Racers have lost their last three conference games by a total of 16 points, due primarily to 10 turnovers.

The Racers, in fact, rank dead last in NCAA Division I-AA in turnover margin at minus-13, having committed 20 turnovers while forcing only seven.

"We're frustrated by the fact we continue to give games away," Murray State coach Joe Pannunzio said. "We really need to learn how to take care of ourselves."

Southeast has also been bit by the turnover bug -- the Redhawks actually have more turnovers (22) than the Racers -- although they have forced twice as many (14).

Last Saturday marked the Redhawks' first turnover-free performance of the season -- and not coincidentally they almost upset Eastern Kentucky before suffering a last-second 33-32 loss. Prior to that game, Southeast had not come closer than 14 points.

"Us and Murray State have kind of both been in the same boat," Billings said. "We've both really been hurt by turnovers. We hadn't even given ourselves a chance to win until the Eastern Kentucky game because of all the turnovers."

Billings believes the Racers' talent is as good -- if not better -- than any team in the OVC, as long as they take care of the football.

Last Saturday's 35-28 loss to first-place Eastern Illinois appears to be a perfect example of that. The Racers dominated statistically, piling up 433 yards of offense, but they committed six turnovers, three of them returned for touchdowns by the Panthers.

Murray State has a whopping 897 yards of offense the past two weeks -- without a win to show for it.

"It might be hard to believe, looking at their record, but they might have the best athletes in the league," Billings said. "They've had an opportunity to win just about every game."

Like Southeast, Murray State has also been hampered by key injuries, and today the Racers are expected to be without their top two receivers.

In addition, multi-dimensional quarterback Ken Topps -- who last Saturday became the first Murray State signal-caller to rush for 100 yards in a game since 1982 when he gained 118 yards -- also is questionable for today with shoulder and rib injuries.

Topps, a junior college transfer who was also recruited by Southeast, has missed all or parts of several games this season with injuries.

"He's been day to day for a while, and that's part of our problem, because he doesn't get to practice a whole lot," Pannunzio said. "With Ken in there, we're a totally different team."

Billings believes a performance similar to the one at Eastern Kentucky will give Southeast an opportunity to end its long losing streak against the Racers -- and also finally give the Redhawks something to smile about.

"If we do the things we did Saturday, we'll have a chance to win," Billings said. "If we play like that, we can play with anybody in the league."