Panthers ignore looming showdown

With an Ohio Valley Conference showdown at Jacksonville State looming on the final date of the regular season, it might be easy to think that Eastern Illinois is looking ahead.

But Panthers coach Bob Spoo, whose squad continues to lead the OVC with a perfect league record, said the Nov. 19 matchup against the two-time defending conference champions hasn't even crossed his mind yet -- and he expects his players to respond the same way.

As far as Spoo is concerned, the only thing that matters to the Panthers (7-2, 6-0 OVC) now is this week's home game against Tennessee Tech (3-6, 2-4).

"That's disastrous when you think you can look by somebody. We have never taken that approach," Spoo said during Tuesday's OVC coaches teleconference. "I think our players understand that's why you play games. Regardless of the win-loss record, you still have to play the game on that day."

The Panthers stayed on course toward their first OVC title since 2002 by posting their sixth straight victory Saturday, 27-3 at Tennessee State (2-7, 1-4). A win over Tennessee Tech clinches at least a share of the crown for Eastern Illinois.

Eastern Illinois managed just 290 yards against Tennessee State's top-ranked OVC defense, but the Panthers' allowed only 239 yards. The game was tied 3-3 late in the first half.

"It was a defensive struggle," Spoo said. "I knew they'd play hard. They did. It took everything we could muster to get it done, but we did."

Turnovers continue to aid the Panthers as they lead the nation in turnover margin with plus-19. Eastern Illinois has forced 35 turnovers while committing only 16.

"We continue to get takeaways and that's been extremely instrumental in our success so far," Spoo said.

Jacksonville State (5-4, 5-1) can do no worse than gain a share of its third straight OVC championship by winning its final two games -- but coach Jack Crowe said his Gamecocks also can't afford to look ahead to Eastern Illinois.

The Gamecocks, who had an open date Saturday, play at in-state rival Samford (5-5, 4-3) this week in a matchup of the OVC's two Alabama universities. The Bulldogs are coming off a 42-21 loss at Tennessee Tech.

"We certainly have aspirations of being in this thing 'til the very end," Crowe said.

But, added Crowe: "I feel like the only thing we can control is how we play against Samford. We go into that football game really respecting Samford, as we always have."

Eastern Kentucky (5-4, 5-1) pulled into a second-place tie with Jacksonville State and stayed right on the Panthers' heels by routing host Murray State (1-8, 0-6) 43-7.

Sophomore quarterback Josh Greco passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns, as he set Eastern Kentucky single-season records for touchdown passes (20), passing yardage (2,374) and total offense (2,510 yards).

The Colonels also got their running game going against the struggling Racers, as they gained more than 200 yards on the ground.

"We went out and played well against Murray in a lot of facets," Eastern Kentucky coach Danny Hope said. "We did a good job running the football."

In Saturday's other game, Tennessee-Martin (5-4, 3-3) continued its remarkable turnaround by rallying for a 24-21 home win over Southeast Missouri State (1-8, 1-5).

Entering this season, the Skyhawks had not won more than two games in a season since 1995. Prior to this year, UTM's OVC record the past nine seasons had been 3-61, as the Skyhawks finished either last or tied for last every time.

Players of the week

Tennessee Tech junior tailback Anthony Ash is the OVC offensive player of the week. He rushed for 106 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns against Samford.

Southeast Missouri junior linebacker Seth Harrell earned the defensive award after he had 18 tackles -- including 14 unassisted stops -- against Tennessee-Martin. The 18 tackles is the most by an OVC defender this season.

Also honored were Southeast Missouri junior punter David Simonhoff (special teams) and Tennessee Tech freshman tailback Cameron Kirnes (newcomer).

Simonhoff averaged 45.7 yards on seven punts against Tennessee-Martin. He had three punts of over 50 yards, including a long of 60.

Kirnes recorded the first 100-yard performance of his collegiate career, rushing for 102 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries against Samford.