INDIANS WRESTLE WITH X's, O's OF THE MIND; THUMPING TESTS SOUTHEAST'S PSYCHE

Despite a dismal performance Saturday night, Southeast Missouri State University football coach John Mumford says he remains extremely confident in his team.

Speaking at his weekly media conference Monday, Mumford said the Indians must simply not let the 41-7 home loss to Illinois State affect them in a negative way mentally.

"I have the same confidence in our team that I had (prior to the game)," said Mumford. "We're in no way ready to give up. It sure looks a lot like last year, but we're not ready to throw in the towel. It's early. There are nine games left. We need to forget about this game.

"What I'm most worried about is the mental aspect. How we'll bounce back from this defeat. We just have to stay positive. The worst thing we can do is point fingers."

Mumford said the biggest problem the Indians had offensively Saturday night was overcoming several early dropped passes that could have put a couple of additional touchdowns on the board.

"They (Illinois State's defense) didn't give us anything we didn't expect," he said. "I think our missing wide open passes early just deflated us.

"We have a degree of immaturity about us right now. We have to realize that, even if we're 10 down or 14 down, we have to know we can come back."

After jumping out to an early 7-0 lead, the Indians surrendered 41 straight points. Southeast finished with only 168 yards of total offense, which was even worse than last season's average of 224 yards per game that ranked last in the Ohio Valley Conference.

"After looking at the film, there's a lot of room for improvement but also a lot of room for encouragement," Mumford said. "The defense is still strong. They just need a little bit of help. But we've got a whole new offense and it's going to take time."

Now the 1-1 Indians will turn their attentions to Murray State and the start of OVC play. Southeast will visit Murray, Ky., Saturday for a 7 p.m. game against the two-time defending OVC champion Racers.

The 1-2 Racers, coming off a surprising 24-20 loss to Southern Illinois, have not lost an OVC game since 1994. They have outscored Southeast 50-0 the last two seasons, including 16-0 at Houck Stadium a year ago.

Although the Racers lost a host of key players from last season, particularly defensively, Mumford said, "I don't see a lot of difference in talent. They've got tremendous athletes."

* Preseason Division I-AA All-America defensive lineman Angel Rubio had another big game against Illinois State.

For the season, Rubio already has 24 tackles (18 unassisted), including eight tackles for loss.

"Angel had a dominating game against Illinois State," said Mumford.

* Also having another strong game Saturday was senior punter Justin Terrill, who boomed six punts for a 44.7-yard average.

Terrill is averaging 43.8 yards per punt to lead the OVC and rank ninth nationally.

* The Indians suffered some injuries against Illinois State but none that should cause players to miss the Murray game.

Offensive guard Jessie Eaton (shoulder separation), offensive guard James Williams (groin pull), defensive tackle Troy Baglio (knee) and defensive end Marcus McClellan (shin bruises) are all probable.

Center Chris Kiefer suffered an ankle sprain in practice last week and played only sparingly against Illinois State but he is also probable for Murray.