Indians focus on strong finish

It is Homecoming Week on the Southeast campus and that is always an exciting time. Our crowds have been great this year and with good weather in the forecast for Saturday's 1 p.m. game against Murray St., I hope we have another big turnout.

Good weather will be a welcome change. Last Saturday's game at Eastern Illinois was played in the worst conditions I've ever experienced during my coaching career. The torrential rain, high wind and muddy field made for a long afternoon.

It was disappointing that we lost the game and that we really didn't get to see how we stack up against one of the top teams in the OVC and Division I-AA football. They were 12 points better in the mud, but we'll never know how we would have stacked up against them on a good day.

We've come close to some big wins this season, but there comes a time when we have to start winning those games.

This week will be a time of refocus for our football team and coaching staff. Our goal was to compete for the OVC championship this season, but with two losses in the league that is now a very long shot. We had our opportunity to win at unbeaten Tennessee St., but we came up a yard short. Now we have to focus on finishing the season strong.

We have four winnable games left on our schedule and we have to take the games one at a time and try to get better each week.

Our football team is still excited about the season and I know they want to get better. If they continue to improve each week, we will have a chance to look back on the season and see our first winning record since 1994.

Murray St. has beaten us eight straight times and in 35 games played against the Racers, Southeast has only four wins. That provides us an opportunity to do what only four previous teams have done... beat Murray St.

It should be a great football game. Both teams have good offensive weapons that should provide an afternoon of exciting football.

The teams are similar in a number of ways. Both teams have a lot of total offensive yards, but have trouble scoring, and both teams give up a lot of yards on defense. It is also the second year under new coaching staffs for both teams. This will again show us how far we have come as a football team.

A win over a solid program like Murray St. would be just another indication that our program is headed in the right direction. Games like this, with no titles on the line, build character. We have to make the most of our opportunity.

The Southeast football teams of 1950 and 1959 will have reunions this weekend and I hope we can make them proud. It will be great to see and meet some of the great players in Southeast football history.

Our crowds this season have created a great college football atmosphere at Houck Stadium. I hope you will join us Saturday as we celebrate Homecoming 2001.

Tim Billings is the head football coach at Southeast Missouri State University.