TSU TIGERS CONTINUE TO BE OVC's BIG SURPRISE (OVC NOTES)

It's looking more and more like Tennessee State's football Tigers just might be a team of destiny this season.

The Tigers trailed Ohio Valley Conference leader Eastern Illinois 21-0 at halftime last weekend in Charleston, Ill. -- but rallied to pull off a stunning 27-21 victory.

That means Tennessee State is now in a first-place OVC tie with Murray State, both at 4-1 in the league.

And the Tigers, at 6-2 overall, have locked up their first winning season since 1990. Their current five-game winning streak is the team' longest since 1986.

It's all pretty heady stuff for a squad that was picked to finish sixth in the OVC preseason poll.

But the Tigers still have some extremely rugged challenges ahead of them in order to claim the OVC crown. They play at Tennessee Tech Saturday and then play at Murray State the following Saturday.

* For the first time since 1990, the team that wins the OVC championship will have at least one conference loss.

Tennessee State Murray State and Eastern Illinois (3-1) all have one defeat with three weeks to play.

Several key matchups remain, including Murray State at Eastern Illinois Saturday and Tennessee State at Murray State the following week.

Eastern Illinois' loss to Tennessee State also means that Middle Tennessee (4-2) is still in the title chase.

* The bottom portion of the OVC standings is headed up by an unlikely team -- Eastern Kentucky.

The Colonels were heavily favored to capture the league title this year. But they are just 2-3 in conference play, which puts them fifth.

Tennessee Tech and Southeast Missouri are both 2-4 and tied for sixth place while 0-5 Tennessee-Martin brings up the rear.

* Middle Tennessee garnered the both OVC player of the week honors.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Wes Counts was named on offense as he completed 24 of 32 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-19 win at Southeast Missouri.

Freshman linebacker Scott Brown, making his first collegiate start, was credited with 21 tackles, including three for loss, against Southeast Missouri. Brown had previously only seen action on special teams and had not recorded a tackle before the Southeast game.

* The OVC continues to have two teams ranked among the nation's top 25 squads -- but they're not the same two as last week.

Murray State has moved up from 13th to 10th in the Sports Network poll. And Tennessee State has replaced Eastern Illinois. The Tigers check in at No. 19 this week, their first national ranking in a number of years.