MURRAY ST., TENN. ST. TO DETERMINE OVC TITLE

After the Ohio Valley Conference's football teams have spent virtually the entire season pounding on one another, the league race has come down to this:

A one-game showdown Saturday between Murray State and visiting Tennessee State to decide the championship.

TSU and Murray are both 5-1 in OVC play after impressive road victories last weekend. The Tigers drilled Tennessee Tech 42-21 while the Racers upended Eastern Illinois 35-21.

The winner of Saturday's game in Murray, Ky., will claim the outright OVC title and earn a berth in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.

Murray is used to being in this situation. The Racers have won two of the past three OVC championships.

For TSU, however, this is uncharted territory. The Tigers have never won the OVC title.

While Murray figures to be favored Saturday, TSU certainly has plenty of momentum on its side. The Tigers have won six straight games to climb into the national rankings. The Racers own a three-game winning streak.

Murray and TSU are both 7-2 overall and both rank among the top offensive teams in the country with an average of more than 400 yards per game. Each is also among the OVC's top defensive squads.

* While the Murray-TSU game will decide the OVC champion, some of the other slots are still up for grabs.

Middle Tennessee, which is done with league play at 5-2, has clinched at least a second-place tie, with either the Racers or Tigers.

Eastern Illinois (3-2) still has a chance to finish as high as a tie for second if the Panthers win their final two conference games.

Eastern Kentucky (3-3), in fifth place, could finish as high as a tie for fourth while Southeast Missouri (2-5) and Tennessee Tech (2-5) are locked into a tie for sixth.

Tennessee-Martin (0-6) is assured of its second straight last-place finish.

* Murray quarterback Justin Fuente and Middle Tennessee running back Kelverick Green share the OVC Offensive Player of the Week honor.

Fuente completed 25 of 45 passes for 396 yards and threw three fourth-quarter touchdowns in the big win at Eastern Illinois.

Green rushed 28 times for a school-record 259 yards in the Raiders' 47-33 victory over Tennessee-Martin.

TSU safety Darrell Hinton earned the league's weekly defensive honor. He had 10 tackles, including four for loss, and returned a fumble 64 yards for a touchdown in the win at Tennessee Tech.