OVC's perennial cellar-dweller visits

For Southeast Missouri State University football fans who think their team has struggled in recent years, the Indians have absolutely nothing on the University of Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks, who visit Houck Stadium for tonight's Family Weekend contest.

UTM would probably give anything for the Indians' 16-39 combined record over the last five seasons and their 3-8 marks of the past three years.

The Skyhawks are 5-50 in the past five years, including 1-35 in Ohio Valley Conference games. UTM, which has been hampered by a lack of scholarships and -- like Southeast -- sub-par facilities, has not posted an OVC victory since 1996 and has finished in the league's basement for five consecutive seasons.

"You get so busy, you don't really think about how tough it is. But it is tough, and you worry about it sometimes," said UTM second-year coach Sam McCorkle, who last season actually led the Skyhawks to their most overall wins -- two -- since the 1995 campaign. "But you can't worry about scholarships and those things at this time. You just have to keep going and try to get better."

The energetic, upbeat McCorkle believes the Skyhawks have significantly upgraded their talent level over the last two years, but he realizes his team still has a long way to go to catch up to the rest of the OVC. UTM has rarely been competitive in conference games over the last few seasons.

"I think we're working hard and getting better," he said. "You just have to keep plugging."

Even though Southeast (2-3 overall, 0-1 OVC) figures to be heavily favored over UTM (1-3, 0-1), Southeast coach Tim Billings said it would be a big mistake for the Indians to take the Skyhawks lightly.

"We're 2-3. I don't think we're in a position to overlook anybody," said Billings. "And we have no control over who we play. We're going to be concerned about ourselves and getting better."

Two young teams

Both squads are young. Southeast, which has 47 freshmen and sophomores on its 76-man roster, starts just three seniors along with eight freshmen. UTM starts only six seniors and has five freshmen regulars.

UTM, whose lone victory this year was a 54-14 romp past Division II Kentucky Wesleyan, features an option offense designed to take plenty of time off the clock.

"They gain three, four yards at a time and then hit you with a big play every once in a while," Billings said. "They want to use up time and keep your offense off the field."

The Skyhawks, who rank second in the OVC in rushing offense with 219.5 yards per game, have a talented running back in diminutive -- 5-feeet-6, 160 pounds -- but speedy sophomore Damien Harris, who has rushed for 328 yards and four touchdowns. He averages 5 yards per carry.

UTM sophomore quarterback Robert Hines, a grandson of legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, is also a solid runner who has gained 167 yards and averages 4.6 yards per attempt. Hines has passed for 353 yards but is completing just 35.6 percent of his attempts (21 of 59).

Overall, the Skyhawks are last in the OVC in total offense with 320.3 yards per game.

On the other side of the ball, UTM is sixth in total defense -- just ahead of Southeast -- at 397.8 yards allowed per game. But while the Indians, who are giving up 404.4 yards a contest, allow just 21 points per game to rank third in scoring defense, the Skyhawks give up 32 points an outing to rank last.

"Harris has lots of speed. He's their go-to guy and we have to worry about him," said Billings. "Hines is a smart player. He's not super fast, but he knows what to do with the ball.

"Defensively, they're big, but I feel if we can protect, they'll have a hard time covering our wide receivers."

McCorkle is indeed worried about the Indians' potent offense that leads the OVC in yards per game with 422.4 and in yards passing per game at 305.8.

"Offensively, they're really good, as good as we'll face," he said. "And defensively, they're much more aggressive.

"They're just better all the way around. They could be 4-1 or even 5-0. They're as improved as any team in the OVC. Coach Billings and his guys are doing a great job."

The Skyhawks no doubt hope history repeats itself tonight. UTM's last OVC win, in 1996, came at Houck Stadium as the Skyhawks edged the Indians 7-6. But Southeast has romped in the past four meetings by an average score of 38-10, including 34-14 in Cape Girardeau last year.