Statistics fail to console Billings

It's of little consolation to Southeast Missouri State University football coach Tim Billings that his team won the statistical battle in its last two games.

The bottom line is that the Indians lost both contests on the scoreboard, putting them at 2-2 heading into Saturday's 6 p.m. game at Division I-A Middle Tennessee State (0-3).

"It doesn't do you much good if you don't win," Billings said.

During Saturday's 28-21 loss at Southwest Missouri, the Indians held a 412-380 edge in total yards. But a host of missed opportunities, three turnovers and some shaky defense at key times spelled defeat.

The week before, the Indians outgained Division I-A Eastern Michigan 475-407 but allowed the Eagles to drive the length of the field to score the game-winning touchdown with 55 seconds left.

"It's disappointing, no question," Billings said. "Both games, if we execute better, we win. Being close is getting old.

"The bottom line is we have to make plays. We made them in the first two games and we haven't in the last two games."

After having a day to digest the most recent loss at Southwest Missouri, Billings' thoughts hadn't changed much from immediately following the game.

"After reviewing film, it was pretty much what I thought," he said. "We moved the ball well. They didn't really stop us, we stopped ourselves. We had two interceptions near the goal line and three turnovers, and we had a field goal blocked. That's a lot of points off the board.

"We scored one touchdown on a fake field goal, so we basically scored 14 points on offense. As many yards as we had, we should have had more points."

Defensive problems

Defensively, the Indians allowed Southwest Missouri third-string tailback Zach Dechant to gain 158 yards and score four touchdowns in his first career start.

"He ran well, but we had them stopped a lot," Billings said. "We have to tackle better, and we have to do a better job against the pass. They didn't have a lot of people wide open, but they won a lot of jump balls. We're going to work on those things this week."

Injuries have hampered the Indians' pass defense the past two weeks. Cornerback Dimitri Patterson missed the Eastern Michigan game with a sore hamstring and was able to play only briefly against Southwest Missouri. His backup, Marco Tipton, missed most of the Eastern Michigan game after suffering a bruised knee early and he did not play against Southwest Missouri.

"Dimitri is an excellent football player. If he's in there, it might have made a difference. But he's not and others have to step up," Billings said.

Billings said Patterson and Tipton are day-to-day this week and he's hopeful they'll be able to play Saturday.

Also on the injury front, defensive end Adam Jones (knee) missed the last two games and is day-to-day. Linebacker Michael Irving (knee) was hurt against Southwest Missouri and is probable for Saturday.Better than they look

Billings said people shouldn't be fooled by Middle Tennessee's record. The former Ohio Valley Conference member, which moved up to Division I-A in 1999, has lost to Alabama 39-34, Tennessee 26-3 and Kentucky 44-22, all on the road.

"Hands down, they'll be the best team we've played so far and I'm sure they'll be the best team we play all year," Billings said. "They've played three really good teams and they've been in every game most of the way."

Saturday's game in Murfreesboro, Tenn., will mark the Indians' fourth straight road contest. They begin their OVC schedule Oct. 5 when Tennessee State visits Houck Stadium.

Billings knows beating the Raiders would be a monumental upset. He's hoping for a solid performance -- and to avoid further injuries -- heading into the start of all-important conference play.

"Confidence wise, we need to play well and show improvement," he said. "We want to play well, play hard and hopefully be healthy for the start of the OVC."