Jacksonville State's tough loss is seen as progress by OVC

As painful as it was for Jacksonville State to lose on the final play of the game Thursday, coach Jack Crowe said the Gamecocks' performance should still do its share to help the Ohio Valley Conference's tattered national image.

After losing to Furman 49-7 in last year's NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, the Gamecocks nearly upset the nation's second-ranked team in their season opener --only to see Furman pull out a wild 37-35 victory in Jacksonville, Ala.

"This whole league has gotten better. We've gotten better, I think everybody in the league has gotten better," Crowe said during Tuesday's OVC coaches teleconference. "Based on what was done in this football stadium [Thursday], there's not that much of a gap between us [the OVC] and the upper echelon in the country. I hope that does something to change this perception."

The OVC recently was ranked ninth among the nation's 12 Division I-AA scholarship leagues by The Sports Network, which covers I-AA football more extensively than any other media outlet.

A current OVC member has not won a playoff game since Murray State in 1996. The last three years, the OVC is 0-4 in the playoffs --with no game being closer than 38 points.

Jacksonville State, the OVC's playoff representative the past two seasons, not only was hammered at Furman by 42 points a year ago, but was pummeled at Western Kentucky 45-7 in 2003.

But Crowe firmly believes that the OVC will begin to assert itself this year. He would have felt better if the Gamecocks -- who fell from 20th to 21st in this week's national poll -- had been able to finish off the job against Furman, but he certainly couldn't fault their effort.

Jacksonville State fell behind 14-0 early in the game and trailed 31-21 in the fourth quarter. The Gamecocks rallied to take a 35-31 lead with 1:27 remaining, only to see Furman drive 74 yards and score on a 9-yard touchdown pass with no time left on the clock.

"I've never seen that kind of courage from a Jacksonville State football team before," Crowe told the Anniston Star newspaper. "Just pure courage."

As for what made the difference between last year's game against Furman and this season's contest, Crowe said Tuesday, "We played at home, and that makes a big difference. I think we're a better football team than our playoff team was, as far as what you can tell from one game and watching practice."

Finally, a Gateway win

The OVC and Gateway Conference set up a challenge last season when six games between teams from those I-AA leagues were played. But things did not go well for the OVC, as the Gateway won all six.

There is no official OVC-Gateway Challenge this year, but there are still several games scheduled between squads from the two conferences.

And for one week at least, the OVC doesn't have to take a back seat to the Gateway. While fourth-ranked Southern Illinois pounded Southeast Missouri State 58-23, Eastern Illinois finally broke the Gateway's run of dominance with a 24-13 victory at Indiana State.

Sure, Indiana State has been one of the Gateway's worst teams in recent years, and the Sycamores are picked to finish last in the league this season. Still, Panthers coach Bob Spoo said he feels good about the win, not only for his squad but for the entire OVC.

"Absolutely, without a doubt, I feel good about that," Spoo said. "We have to close that gap that exists, at least that people perceive exists. I guess the way to do that is to schedule those people and win those games."

The OVC will have five more shots at the Gateway this season, starting Saturday as Eastern Kentucky visits eighth-ranked Western Kentucky.

Other OVC-Gateway matchups later in the year feature Murray State at home against Indiana State and at Illinois State, Southeast Missouri State at Missouri State and Eastern Illinois at home against Illinois State.

Players of the week

Tennessee-Martin senior quarterback Brady Wahlberg is the OVC's offensive player of the week after rallying the Skyhawks past Central Arkansas 35-34.

Wahlberg completed 22 of 26 passes for 188 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 63 yards, making him the school's career leader in total offense with 5,470 yards. Wahlberg threw a TD pass with less than a minute left for the winning score.

Eastern Illinois junior safety Tristan Burge won defensive honors. He returned an interception 76 yards for a touchdown against Indiana State in addition to recovering a fumble and recording five tackles.