INDIAN DEFENSE HAS EIU GROUND FORCES BRACING FOR BATTLE

Eastern Illinois University's Panthers had an extremely tough time running the football last weekend against the second-best rushing defense in the Ohio Valley Conference.

That's the primary reason EIU coach Bob Spoo says he is genuinely concerned entering today's 5 p.m. Ohio Valley Conference game against Southeast Missouri State University at Houck Stadium.

The Panthers, ranked 15th in the national NCAA Division I-AA poll and the preseason OVC favorites, were held to just 60 yards on the ground and 257 yards overall against Tennessee Tech. But they managed to squeeze out a 10-7 victory, improving to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the OVC.

"There's nothing wrong with being a little lucky once in a while. And we were a bit lucky in the Tennessee Tech win," said Spoo. "We had trouble against a team that had great defense and now we're facing another excellent defensive football team. It's going to be a tough game.

"Southeast has been very tough to run on and we had problems with that against Tennessee Tech. It's a genuine concern of ours."

The Indians (2-2 overall, 1-1 OVC) are coming off a 42-7 win over Tennessee-Martin that should give them plenty of confidence heading into today's game. But Southeast coach John Mumford realizes that the Panthers are nothing like the winless Skyhawks.

"They are an excellent team, rock solid," said Mumford. "It's going to be a huge test for us, but we're excited about it. We're playing at home and hopefully the crowd will really get behind us."

Southeast, which has struggled offensively much of the season, got things going against Tennessee-Martin but Mumford realizes the real challenge will come today.

"The real test will come against Eastern Illinois' outstanding defense," Mumford said. "I'm not ready to say our offense has arrived, but we sure made great progress against Tennessee-Martin.

Likewise, the Indians' defense will face a major challenge -- its biggest of the season to date -- against the Panthers' powerful offense.

Southeast ranks second in the OVC in total defense, allowing an average of 250.8 yards per game, and the Indians lead the league in rushing defense at just 74.3 yards per contest. EIU leads the OVC in rushing offense at 189 yards per game and is third in total offense (367 yards).

"Our defense has played great football but will face its biggest test against Eastern Illinois," said Mumford. "This will be our biggest defensive challenge of the year. It's a huge game for our offense, because a big key will be controlling the ball and keeping Eastern Illinois' offense off the field."

Running behind another extremely large EIU offensive line, tailbacks Jabarey McDavid (420 yards) and Justin Lynch (368 yards) are among the OVC's rushing leaders.

And the Panthers are not only dangerous on the ground, they have an extremely efficient quarterback in Mike Simpson, who has completed 73 of 105 passes (69.5 percent) for 858 yards, with four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Anton Manuel and Donnie Davis, with 18 and 16 receptions, are Simpson's favorite targets.

"Probably the most impressive thing about their offense is their running backs. They hit the hole 100 miles per hour," said Mumford. "And Simpson is very accurate, but we have to stop the running game and make them throw."

Spoo admits it's no secret that his team tries to run the football as much as possible.

"There are certain things every team does as a staple, I suppose you might say," he said. "We try to establish a running game as best we can. We'd been pretty consistent until this last game."

The Panthers will turn to their running game again today, although Spoo knows it won't be easy to pile up the yardage, certainly not as easy as last year when EIU rushed for a whopping 373 yards in routing the Indians 41-21 at Houck Stadium.

"Angel Rubio is as good a defensive tackle as anyone in the league," Spoo said. "Southeast has certainly improved (since last year). It's going to be tough."

Southeast's offense will also attempt to establish a running game today in an attempt to control the football. As for the passing game, quarterback Justin Martini should have confidence after playing well against Tennessee-Martin in his first start of the season and throwing for a career-high 244 yards against EIU last year.

Eastern Illinois at SEMO

Probable Starters

SEMO Offense

TE - Mitch Fryer 6-2 240 Jr.

LT - Ian Walters 6-3 280 So.

LG - James Williams 6-2 275 Jr.

C - Chris Kiefer 6-3 270 So.

RG - Jessie Eaton 6-3 320 Jr.

RT - Dan Clauss 6-4 250 Jr.

WR - Leslie Weaver 5-10 190 Fr.

WR - Dante Bryant 6-1 190 Jr.

QB - Justin Martini 6-1 205 Sr.

FB - Britt Mirgaux 6-1 228 Jr.

TB - K.D. Koloesho 5-10 195 So.

PK - Eric Warren 5-7 190 Sr.

SEMO Defense

DL - Angel Rubio 6-3 290 Sr.

DL - Troy Baglio 6-1 280 Jr.

DL - Damon Hendrick 6-5 260 Sr.

DL - Marcus McClellan 6-3 250 Jr.

LB - Gabe Jenkins 6-0 230 Jr.

LB - Zuri Buchanan 6-0 240 So.

LB - Chris Justice 6-2 235 So.

CB - Fred Hambrick 5-10 180 Jr.

CB - Willie Davis 5-11 190 Sr.

FS - Michael Reece 6-1 200 Sr.

SS - Ronnie Smith 5-9 195 Sr.

P - Justin Terrill 6-2 185 Sr.

EIU Defense

DL - Dave Thomas 6-3 222 Sr.

DL - Mike Shea 6-0 237 Sr.

DL - Amiziah Smith 6-0 293 Sr.

DL - Ethan Banning 6-4 263 Sr.

LB - Rodney Wilson 5-10 223 Sr.

LB - Thomas Williams 5-10 226 Sr.

LB - Lance Lohrenz 6-0 221 Jr.

CB - Steffan Nicholson 6-0 178 So.

CB - Chris Watson 6-0 190 Jr.

FS - Ed Jackson 5-8 181 Sr.

SS - Antwan Perry 5-8 192 So.

P - John Fowle 5-9 170 So.

EIU Offense

TE - Seth Willingham 6-3 257 So.

LT - Jerrell Smith 6-3 274 Jr.

LG - Ryan Shuff 6-5 279 Jr.

C - Chris Dunkle 6-1 330 Sr.

RG - Pete Wilkes 6-5 311 Sr.

RT - Bill Frangieh 6-6 308 Sr.

WR - Anton Manuel 5-8 161 Sr.

WR - Donnie Davis 5-10 166 Jr.

QB - Mike Simpson 6-3 218 Sr.

FB - Conrad Praamsma 5-8 220 Jr.

TB - Justin Lynch 6-0 205 Jr.

PK - Chad Larner 5-10 209 So.