REDBIRDS MADE BELIEVERS OUT OF SOUTHEAST STAFF

Just how big an impression did Illinois State leave Saturday on Southeast Missouri State University football coach John Mumford?

The Redbirds' 55-7 drubbing of the Indians was very convincing.

"I voted Illinois State No. 1 in the nation this week," said Mumford of the Redbirds, who are ranked fifth in the latest NCAA Division I-AA poll. "I think they are the best team we've played since I've been head coach and that includes I-A teams Arkansas State and Hawaii."

Looking beyond the power of Illinois State, Mumford was also left with a surprising assessment of own team.

Of the Indians' performance against Illinois State as compared to the previous week's season-opening 43-25 loss to Southern Illinois, Mumford said, "It may sound strange, but I thought we had improved play by a number of players, but we didn't have enough to make a difference."

Other than not having nearly enough talent to keep from getting routed by Illinois State, the Indians actually didn't play too badly, at least not in the tangible areas.

The Indians had zero turnovers and, although they were penalized 12 times for 89 yards, several of those infractions occurred late when Southeast had long cleared its bench.

But the bottom line is that the Indians have been physically overmatched in their first two games. And, as Ohio Valley Conference play opens Saturday night at Murray State, Mumford can only hope that won't be the case the rest of the season.

"It will be good to start OVC play," said Mumford. "We've played Murray State well in the past. Last year's game came down to two plays (in a 26-14 Southeast loss). We feel like we can play with Murray."

* Of the three Southeast quarterbacks who played against Illinois State, Mike Gross -- the last one to see action -- had by far the best numbers.

While it has to be taken into consideration that Gross was playing late against the Redbirds' deep reserves, Mumford acknowledged that the former Jackson High standout was impressive.

"There were different animals in the game, but Mike showed a lot of poise," Mumford said. "He did well."

Gross completed eight of 11 passes for 71 yards and the Indians' only touchdown, a 2-yard strike to Jerl Huling.

Starting quarterback Bobby Brune was 6-for-16 for 44 yards while being sacked five times. Rashad West, seeing his first action in a Southeast uniform, was 4-for-14 for 88 yards.

"We're still trying to bring Rashad up to speed," Mumford said. "He did some good things but he showed had hadn't been in a game in a while."

* Another ex-Jackson star, fullback Devree Flint, made his first college start against Illinois State.

Mumford has said all along that Flint and senior Broderick Benson are pretty well neck-and-neck at the fullback spot and both will continue to share playing time.

* Mumford continues to be impressed by the play of freshman cornerback Demar Winston and the St. Louis native is scheduled to make his first college start against Murray State.

Another first-time starter will be Missouri transfer Kyle Piper, who will move in at nose guard as Mumford tries to get more production from the Indians' defensive line.

* On the injury front, backup tight end Bryan Walker hurt a knee against Illinois State and probably won't play against Murray State.

* Through two games, senior linebacker Jeremy Atwell is the Indians' leading tackler with 26 stops, including six for losses. Atwell is also tops in the OVC in both categories.

K.D. Koleosho ranks second in the OVC and 24th nationally in kickoff returns with an average of 25.7 yards per return. Corey Chester is third in the league with 23.4 yards per kickoff return.

* The Indians have rushed for just 82 yards while allowing a whopping 542 ground yards in the first two games.

All told, Southeast has gained 468 total yards while giving up 913.

* Murray State figures to be smarting quite a bit when the Racers and Indians square off at 6 p.m. Saturday in Murray, Ky.

The Racers, after being blown out at Wisconsin 49-10 in their season opener -- no surprise there -- suffered a wild 58-51 loss at SIU over the weekend.

Murray State trailed 41-12 at halftime but nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback. The Racers piled up 665 yards but allowed 553.

Racers' standout senior quarterback Justin Fuente established a new OVC record by throwing for 553 yards. He completed 35 of 55 passes and three touchdowns.

Not surprisingly, Fuente has been named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week.