Southeast win was a boost for the OVC, coaches agree

Southeast Missouri State University's stunning victory over Division I-A Middle Tennessee State on Saturday sent plenty of shock waves throughout the Ohio Valley Conference, which begins its league schedule this weekend.

OVC coaches said the Indians' 24-14 triumph is good for the entire conference.

"It scared me to death that I have to play them," joked Eastern Kentucky coach Roy Kidd, who earlier in the week announced his retirement following this season after 39 years and 310 wins with the Colonels.

"It does nothing but help everybody in the conference," Murray State coach Joe Pannunzio said. "Our league is an underrated league and any time a team can go out and do that, it helps all of us."

Of course, Southeast coach Tim Billings pointed out the Indians' first-ever win over a Division I-A team will have absolutely no bearing on what transpires once OVC play begins.

"That game was great for history, but this game is more important," Billings said in reference to this Saturday's conference opener against visiting Tennessee State.

The Southeast (3-2) vs. Tennessee State (1-4) matchup is one of three set for the opening weekend of conference play.

Also Saturday, defending league champion Eastern Illinois (2-2) visits Tennessee Tech (2-3) and Eastern Kentucky (3-2) entertains Tennessee-Martin (2-3). Murray State (1-3) is idle.

Coaches predict a tight race for conference title

The eventual OVC champion has rolled through the conference without a loss 10 of the past 11 seasons, including the last three.

But few people expect that to happen this year, primarily because the coaches believe the league is stronger from top to bottom than it has been in some time.

"I think the champion is going to have a hard time going undefeated," Kidd said. "Whoever wins it this year, if they go undefeated, they will have earned it. It will be hard to do. Everybody seems to be a lot better this year."

Said Eastern Illinois coach Bob Spoo, "I think it's a better league from top to bottom than it has been. I don't think anybody will go through it without some kind of loss. It's just a lot better."

Murray State stinging from a pair of defeats

Forgive Pannunzio if he's been feeling a bit blue the last couple of weeks -- and that's definitely not Racer blue.

The Racers have suffered a pair of excruciating losses the past two weeks. First came a 24-23 defeat at Illinois State in which Pannunzio elected to go for a two-point conversion in the closing seconds. It failed. Then Saturday, the Racers fell at Indiana State 34-31 in two overtimes.

"It's two heartbreaking losses," Pannunzio said. "But now you throw the records out and it's the games from here forward that count."

Quick hits

Southeast's win at Middle Tennessee was the first time an OVC team has defeated a I-A opponent in six years. Eastern Illinois last accomplished the feat, beating Western Michigan 28-20 in 1996. OVC squads are a combined 1-8 against I-A teams this year.

Eastern Illinois has won eight straight OVC games. On the other end of the spectrum, Tennessee-Martin has not posted an OVC victory since 1996 when it beat Southeast Missouri.

Eastern Illinois quarterback Tony Romo, who set the OVC record for career touchdown passes two weeks ago, has 62 scoring tosses in his career. He is the two-time OVC Offensive Player of the Year and was voted preseason I-AA Player of the Year by one major publication.

A pair of OVC teams continue to be ranked in the two major I-AA polls. The Sports Network has Eastern Illinois 13th and Eastern Kentucky 21st. In the ESPN/USA Today poll, Eastern Illinois is 14th and Eastern Kentucky 21st.

mmishow@semissourian.com

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