Southeast Missouri State football season will conclude against OVC champs

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz tabbed Houck Stadium as a place where Top 25 teams come to die when the Redhawks knocked off their second nationally-ranked opponent of the season in Tennessee State on Oct. 4.

He said that a "brickyard" would be formed -- a graveyard of sorts filled with bricks to go along with the team's "brick-by-brick" motto that represented the nationally-ranked team that they defeated.

When the reigning Ohio Valley Conference champion Jacksonville State Gamecocks come to town Saturday, Southeast will try to add another brick to the yard and finish its season with a win.

"It's exciting. You don't get a lot of these opportunities to play a No. 3 team in the country, so for all our players this is an exciting time," Matukewicz said. "They should beat us -- that's why they're the No. 3 team in the country -- but we're going to go and try and handle the things that make us who we are and just see how it plays out. Like I told them, I think we're the fresher team. They're going to have to drive a long ways, they were in a really tough, physical game last week and I feel like our sideline is worth seven points. We've got to somehow create seven points in the special teams, play great situational defense and then we can't turn it over on offense and [we need to] score touchdowns once we get in the red zone."

The Gamecocks (9-1, 7-0 OVC) clinched the conference title outright with a 27-20 victory over two-time defending champion Eastern Illinois last Saturday. Southeast snapped a four-game losing streak -- their previous win was against ranked Tennessee State -- with a 42-7 rout of Austin Peay last week.

"It's the best team we've played," Matukewicz said about the Gamecocks. "I come from the MAC conference, and I think they would win the MAC East. They're that talented. They don't have significant holes in their roster. I think they can win a national championship if they can stay healthy and do all those type of things on paper, but that's obviously different than reality and all the things you have to go through and actually win that championship. They're well-coached. ... I know they'll have them ready."

JSU coach John Grass led the Gamecocks to a conference title in his first year at the helm. His squad is ranked third in the country in the FCS coaches poll and fourth in the FCS Sports Network Top 25.

The Gamecocks have four players in the conference's top 10 in rushing, including running back DaMarcus James, who is second in the conference with an average of 101.3 yards per game. He's scored 11 touchdowns.

Sophomore quarterback Eli Jenkins leads the offense, which averages 500.4 yards a game. He has thrown for 1,417 yards and eight touchdowns, while rushing for 547 yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore receiver Josh Barge is Jenkins' top target, averaging 83.1 yards with four touchdowns.

JSU hasn't lost a game since opening its season at Michigan State on Aug. 29. Although the Gamecocks have secured a spot in the FCS playoffs, Grass said his team isn't satisfied and is eyeing an undefeated conference season.

"They're a team that reminds me of our team last year," Grass said about Southeast in the OVC's weekly teleconference. "Win some close games early, got into conference play and lost a couple conference games close. The losses they've had have been close. There's not a ballgame that they've been out of. They're sitting there at 5-6 and they could easily be 8-3 with a chance to be in the playoffs. That staff has done a tremendous job as well of changing a football team in a year. Like I said, they're a dangerous football team. *... You look at this game and it means a lot because we should get a bye winning this game, and getting a bye in the first round of playoffs would be huge playoff-wise and getting to play at home in the second round and pretty much through the playoffs, so its a huge game for us. You just wish you wouldn't have to load up on a bus and ride seven hours and go play a good football team."

Southeast (5-6, 4-5 OVC) will honor 20 seniors before the 1 p.m. kickoff at Houck Stadium.

"They've changed this program not just for this season, but forever," Matukewicz said. "That's what I wanted them to understand is, 'I'm sorry that people can't realize what you've done by showing them a conference championship ring, but when this does happen, it'll be because of you guys and the foundation that you laid.' Because they didn't come in, and I didn't have to prove anything because they just bought in right away. They didn't make excuses for their lack of preparation and work in the past.

"It all started from that class. They built the foundation so well that we should make a pretty good jump here soon because of what they were able to accomplish."