RACERS PLAYOFF HOPES REELING AFTER SECOND CONFERENCE LOSS (OVC NOTES)

A few weeks ago, Murray State suffered its first Ohio Valley Conference loss since the 1994 season.

And last weekend, the Racers were saddled with another conference setback when Tennessee Tech pulled off a 16-13 overtime victory.

That defeat virtually eliminated the two-time defending OVC champion Racers from league title contention, meaning they're sure to miss the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs after being included in the postseason party the last two years.

Meanwhile, Tennessee Tech continued its resurgence under second-year coach Mike Hennigan. The Golden Eagles, at 5-3 overall and 3-2 in OVC play, appear to have a good chance at finishing at least third in the conference.

"We beat a very good football team. That's a sign of progress," said Hennigan of the win over Murray. "Our defense was put into tough field position and they rose to the occasion."

Murray State fell into a third-place OVC tie with Tennessee Tech, also having a 3-2 league record.

The Racers' loss increases the chances even further that the OVC championship will be decided on the last date of the regular season (Nov. 22) when Eastern Kentucky visits Eastern Illinois.

Eastern Illinois is 5-0 in OVC play while Eastern Kentucky is 4-0. Murray State and Tennessee Tech are all still mathematically alive for gaining a share of the league title, but in order for that to happen, the Easterns would have to each stumble twice the rest of the way, which is not likely to happen.

* In addition to Tennessee Tech's win over Murray State last weekend, other OVC results were as follows:

Eastern Illinois 21, Indiana State 14; Eastern Kentucky 49, Tennessee-Martin 0; and Southeast Missouri 31, Austin Peay 0.

* Saturday's schedule around the OVC looks like this:

Eastern Illinois at Murray State, Eastern Kentucky at Southeast Missouri, Tennessee Tech at Tennessee State, Samford at Tennessee-Martin, Austin Peay at Middle Tennessee.

* Four OVC teams are ranked among the top 30 nationally in I-AA in scoring defense.

Tennessee Tech ranks second (11.0 points per game), Eastern Illinois sixth (13.8), Eastern Illinois 15th (15.6) and Murray State 27th (16.4).

In total defense, Murray State is eighth (239.8 yards per game), with Tennessee Tech 11th (247.8) and Eastern Illinois 16th (263.0).

* For the first time in a few weeks, the OVC again has two teams ranked among the nation's top 25 I-AA squads.

Eastern Illinois is ninth this week while Eastern Kentucky has moved back into the ranking at 24th.