OVC Football

Final whistle

2007-02-23T09:08:00.000-06:00

No doubt many of you may already have figured this out, but I've decided to no longer update the OVC Football Blog.

It has been nearly a year since this idea was hatched. Blogging the 2006 season was fun, but a bit exhausting. I've decided that the 30 minutes to an hour each morning I spent composing my daily posts could be better spent.

Thanks to all of you who made regular visits, provided me with tips and links and encouraged my work. You made the time I spent with it worthwhile.

Of course, I'll still be following OVC Football faithfully as long as my JSU Gamecocks are playing in the league. 2007 looks to be a banner year, with strong teams returning and a number of rebuilding projects beginning to mature. Who'll win the crown this year? Your guess is as good as mine.

Thanks again, faithful readers.

Happy New Year

2007-01-03T19:51:00.000-06:00

Greetings, OVC fans. Sorry for the long hiatus, but I needed a bit of a break after my first season of following the league's football action. Throw in the holiday festivities, and things were a bit busy here around OVC Football Blog headquarters.

Now that 2007 is here, I'll be checking in regularly on off-season moves and whetting your appetite for the upcoming season.

Here's a quick look at some of the recent news from around the OVC:

Jacksonville State is beefing up at quarterback, adding junior college tranfer Cedric Johnson, of Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.). At 5-foot-10, Johnson stands just a bit taller than the Gamecocks' 2006 starter Matt Hardin, and weighs in at 190 pounds, according to The Anniston (Ala.) Star (sorry, subscribers only). Johnson led Copiah-Lincoln to a 9-3 season in 2006, according to a release from JSU. He's an Americus, Ga., native, and The Star says he chose JSU over Georgia Southern.

Murray State also added three players in time to take spring practice with the Racers, according to a release from the school. Bruce McCurdy signed with the Naval Academy but did not enroll; he passed for 1,800 yards and 13 touchdowns in his senior sesason with Brentwood (Tenn.) High. Wade Peters and Nico Yantko both come to MSU after signing with UT-Martin during Racers coach Matt Griffin's tenure there. Peters started one game as a free safety at Martin in 2005, and spent 2006 at North Central Missouri Community College without plaiying football. Yantko went to Iwoa Central Community College after leaving Martin. He played quarterback in high school.

Jack's coming back

2006-12-15T08:58:00.000-06:00

Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe has signed a new, five-year contract to remain with the Gamecocks, according to today's Anniston Star (sorry, subscribers only).

The story says Crowe will earn a base salary of $150,000, with incentives for academic and athletic performance, including bonuses for winning conference and national titles. Crowe is 43-34 at JSU, and is coming off four straight winning seasons. After winning OVC titles in 2003 & '04, the Gamecocks finished 6-5 each of the last two years. Not everyone over at gojaxstate.com is happy about this.

Brown's back in town

2006-12-10T09:53:00.000-06:00

Tennessee Tech did indeed make it official yesterday, announcing Cookeville native Watson Brown as the new head football coach. There's an exhaustive release on the move up at TTU's official site. There's audio of Brown's statements and of Tech athletics director Mark Wilson.

The release details Brown's entire athletic experience, from his time at Cookeville High School all the way up to his most recent job with UAB. They could have headlined the release "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Watson Brown's Career But Were Afraid to Ask."

New coach #2 - instant rivalry?

2006-12-09T09:44:00.000-06:00

The Birmingham (Ala.) News today reports that Watson Brown is leaving UAB to become the new head coach at Tennessee Tech. The (Nasvhille) Tennessean, meanwhile reports that Brown is the lead candidates for the job among three others. The news says TTU will make an announcement today at the Golden Eagles' basketball doubleheader.

The OVC had two head coaching vacancies, and both were filled by UAB guys; Samford hired the Blazers' running backs coach (and former offensive coordinator), Pat Sullivan, last weekend. What's really interesting about that is part of the reason Sullivan left UAB may have been that he didn't want to deal with Brown (The News' Kevin Scarbinsky says they don't get along), who was rumored to be moving into the AD spot at UAB. Now, he'll be coaching his Bulldogs against Brown's Golden Eagles squad every year. Brown at least will be spared a return to Birmingham in 2007, as Samford makes the drive to Cookeville.

Well, two of our post-season storylines have played out. Now we'll have to see what Samford and Tennessee State decide about possible moves to other conferences.

Spoo's back

2006-12-02T09:31:00.000-06:00

Bob Spoo is back in charge of the Eeastern Illinois football program, according to the (Charleston, Ill.) Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. Still no word on the surgery and recovery that kept him sidelined for the entire 2006 season, but hey, that's his business and not ours, I guess.

Spoo made his return official Friday, in sort of an awkward way, announcing that former Panthers quarterback Mike Donato will not return. Donato, the starter for the Panthers' 2005 OVC championship season, was dismissed. No other details were provided.

Friday news - It's all Samford

2006-12-01T08:06:00.000-06:00

The Birmingham (Ala.) News today reports on Pat Sullivan's hiring as head coach at Samford. The paper says the UAB assistant was offered the top job with the Blazers, but elected to head across town to Samford instead. That's a pretty big deal. If Samford was willing to outspend UAB to get a coach, it could be a sign of bigger things to come in that program (and a signal, perhaps, to the Southern Conference? We'll see).

In a column in The News, Kevin Scarbinsky says Samford scored a touchdown in luring Sullivan away from UAB, a troubled program where back-room politics apparently dominated the coaching search (like they don't everywhere else, but if Scarbinsky's right this looks like a particularly messy case).

It's Sullivan

2006-11-30T19:08:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting here watching the tube, and Birmingham ABC affiliate 33/40 just broke in with a special announcement that Pat Sullivan has been hired as Samford's new head coach, on a five-year contract.

Actually, the short report was more about how Sullivan won't be the next head coach at UAB, since he's accepted an offer at Samford. But hey, they still broke in with a special report about an OVC team. Cool.

EDIT (8:35 p.m.): ABC 33/40 has added an item to the top of their home page about Sullivan's hiring at Samford. Look at the top of the page next to the "Latest Details" graphic.

First coaching candidate

2006-11-29T21:41:00.000-06:00

Pat Sullivan's come out for Samford, according to the AP.

Would the Bulldogs would want someone who's climbed down the ladder, though, from TCU head coach to offensive coordinator at UAB, to running backs coach for the Blazers? Don't know abything about Sullivan, though, so maybe he'd be a better coach than that two-second record indicates. Got an opion? Click comment below to share it.

PsOTY & all-conference team

2006-11-29T07:41:00.000-06:00

The conference office has released the OVC Players of the Year and the all-conference team.

Offenseive POTY honors are shared by running backs Vincent Webb of Eastern Illinois and Donald Chapman of UT-Martin. EIU llinebacker Donald Thomas is the defenseive POTY. Tennessee Tech quarterback Lee Sweeney is the newcomer of the year. Earning the Roy Kidd Coach of the Year award is UTM's Jason Simpson.

Monday news

2006-11-27T09:01:00.000-06:00

Here's what's up:

Chris Austin's column in the (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle says Austin Peay State has improved more than its 3-8 record shows. Against the five teams who also appeared on the Govs' 2005 schedule, APSU was 3-2 this year; last year they were 1-4. Factor in the team's youth - 50 of the 85 players were freshman - and it looks like that improvement can only continue.

The (Charleston, Ill.) Journal Gazette/Times-Courier says Eastern Illinois' defense played well Saturday against Illinois State, but ISU's played better. By limiting wide receiver Micah Rucker and bottling up running back Vincent Webb, the Rebirds held EIU to just 138 yards of offense. The paper also says the loss was tough for the Panthers to take, ending as it did a season in which the team was without its venerable head coach, lost an all-American linebacker on the first play of the season, suffered through a number of other injuries and still managed to win a share of the conference title and an at-large bid to the playoffs.

Marty Mishow's blog over at the Southeast Missourian asks SEMO fans whether they think coach Tony Samuel has the team headed in the right direction after going 4-7 in his first season. Mishow urges patience; the fans' opinions are mixed. What's yours?

By the way, look for these daily news updates to become once- or twice-weekly soon, probably on Mondays and/or Fridays. Fear not, though, if a big story breaks (team leaves/joins conference or hires/fires coach) I'll get it up as soon as I know it. Of course, feel free to feed me all the information you've got ... ovc@cableone.net.

Sunday news roundup

2006-11-26T10:02:00.000-06:00

Here's what's up this morning:

The (Charleston, Ill.) Journal Gazette/Times-Courier says Eastern Illinois might have started celebrating a little early after the Panthers took a 13-10 lead over Illinois State in the fourth quarter on an interception return. ISU came back to win 24-13. "Any loss is difficult," EIU coach Mark Hutson . "The expectations were to go further into the I-AA playoffs. Losing to a longtime rival just compounds that."

The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun says that there was more to see than a narrow 36-30 Skyhawks loss yesterday in Carbondale, Ill.; there also was the birth of a perennial contender. The Sun also runs a gamer that points to Arkee Whitlock's 207-yard running effort for Southern Illinois as the difference in the contest.

Here's a couple of important stories I missed while I was chowing down on turkey, dressing and sweet potato pie:

The (Nashville) Tennessean's Mike Organ says University of Kentucky assisstant Randy Sanders is a potential candidate for the head coaching job at Tennessee Tech. Sanders wouldn't confirm it, and TTU AD Mark Wilson would either, but Organ assures us it's so. Sanders spent seven years as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Tennessee before heading north to UK. The only known candidate at this point is Doug Malone, the Golden Eagles' offensive coordinator who led the team as acting head coach this season during Mike Hennigan's leave of absence.

The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle provides a comprehensive review of Austin Peay State's season, with a look ahead to the Govs' return to OVC competition next year. The paper honors several players: newcomer of the year Kit Hartsfield, most-improved player Lanis Frederick, offensive MVP Chris Fletcher, and defensive MVP Daniel Becker.

Stay tuned this week, as I'll have some post-season analysis, and a look ahead to next year. I do enjoy following OVC basketball, but I live in Alabama, folks. It's always football season here.

Sigh

2006-11-25T17:52:00.000-06:00

We'll have to wait another year for an OVC playoff victory, but we got as close today as we have in years. Here are the finals:

Southern Illinois 36, UT-Martin 30 - From the box scsore at ESPN.com, it looks like UT-Martin sloyly ran out of gas while SIU gradually picked up steam. The Skyhawks had a 21-7 lead at the half, then stretched it to 27-7 before the Salukis rattled off three straight touchdowns to take a 1-point lead. UTM answered with a late field goal to retake the lead, but SIU scored with less than a minute remaining to seal the win. Martin running back Donald Chapman had a good day with 108 yards and two TDs, but SIU's Arkee Whitlock outclassed him in the end, getting 207 yards and four scores. UTM's dream season comes to end, but look to be strong contenders next year.

Illinois State 24, Eastern Illinois 13 - Eastern's defense appeared to keep them in the game, giving the the Panthers their only touchdown of an interception to take the lead in the fourth quarter at 13-10, but Illinois State eventually got things going, scoring to take the lead with just over two minutes left, then returning an interception of their own for the final. Had the Panther offense showed up for the game they might have had a chance. ISU held them to 138 yards overall, with Cole Stinson earning just 79 yards on 15 of 30 attempts, and running back Vincent Webb getting a mere 54 yards.

Even with the losses, the OVC appears to have narrowed the gap considerably this year. With plenty of strong teams returning, and other hoping to see success in rebuilding their programs, next year could be when the league finally turns the corner. This year, we'll have to settle for peeking around it.

Just in

2006-11-25T15:00:00.000-06:00

Hi, OVC fans. Just back from my Thanksgiving trip, where the Internet connectivity was spottier than I imagined. Sorry about that.

On the bright side, I've just checked the scores at Sportsnetwork.com, where I see that UT-Martin is up 21-7 on Southern Illinois at halftime. Keep it up, Skyhawks!

Eastern Illinois, meanwhile was down 10-6 against Illinois State with about a minute to go before the fourth quarter. That game certainly isn't out of reach for the Panthers.

Whatever happens, these games appear to be a long way from the thrashings predicted by some Gateway Conference fans over at AnyGivenSaturday.org. That makes me smile.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-22T18:17:00.000-06:00

Hello all. I'm hitting the road to be with family for the holiday. Internet connection will be spotty, but I should be able to post each day through Saturday, and I'll be home to write about the playoff results by that night, for sure. Stay tuned!

How thankful I am to live a life where I can devote so much time to enjoyment of a simple game. I'm also thankful for the education I received from Jacksonville State that allows me to lead this life. I know you're all just as thankful for your time at your institutions, and for the enjoyment you derive from watching their teams play ball. Everyone please take a moment this week to consider such things, and to remember those who aren't as fortunate.

Thanks to all of you for the kind comments over the last few days. They're appreciated.

Best of luck to the Skyhawks and Panthers. Go OVC!

Wednesday news

2006-11-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

Here's today's ink:

Austin Peay State can look forward to a bright future, according the program's seniors, in a story in today's (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle. Perhaps proving the seniors' point is the fact that there are only four of them. The Govs' 82-man roster listed 50 freshmen this year.

Just because the regular season's over, by the way, doesn't mean you should stop checking the OVC Football Blog every day. This could turn out to be the newsiest time of the year: Samford's looking for a new coach, and may be looking at a new conference home. Tennessee Tech will have to decide whether to keep Mike Hennigan, and we're all wondering how Bob Spoo's doing up in Charleston. And then there's the scheduling ... who will the OVC teams take on out-of-conference next year?

And of course, we'll be following the Skyhawks and Panthers throughout their playoff runs ... as long as possible.

Thanks to all of you who've followed the conference with us since we started up back in February. This has been fun, and I'm already looking forward to next year.

Last polls and Tuesday news

2006-11-21T08:11:00.000-06:00

The final regular season top 25 polls are out, and the OVC's playoff representatives are in good standing heading into the first round. UT-Martin held its ground at #12 in the Sports Network's official poll of sportswriters, and also is 12th in the College Sporting News coaches poll, and the AnyGivenSaturday.com fan poll. Eastern Illinois rose to 14th in the TSN poll, and is 16th in both the other polls.

Here's today's news:

Let the conference-hopping talk begin. The Birmingham (Ala.) News' Mike Perrin says Samford officials are seriously weighing overtures from the Southern Conference. That's a turning of the tables on the OVC, which was rebuffed by UT-Chattanooga earlier this year.

The (Charleston, Ill.) Journal Gazette/Times-Courier reports on the rankings, and begins to preview Eastern Illinois' opponents, Illinois State.

There weren't as many wins as he'd like to have had, but coach Tony Samuel thinks Southeast Missouri State is on the right track, according to the Southeast Missourian.

The (Cookeville, Tenn.) Herald-Citizen says Tennessee Tech's win over SEMO on Saturday was an emotional one. Acting coach Doug Malone didn't get long to celebrate, though. He's got to update his resume to get in the running for keeping the job full-time. Here's a link to the HC sports section.

Monday news

2006-11-20T07:53:00.000-06:00

Here's what's up today:

Jacksonville State's Clay Green was the difference in Saturday's game aginst Eastern Illinois, reports the (Charleston, Ill.) Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. The running back wound up returning punts Saturday, to counter EIU's low, rugby-style kicks. He returned one for a touchdown in the first half to give the Gamecocks a 14-7 edge. But he mishandled one in the fourth quarter with JSU up by three. EIU recovered the ball on the 36, and it wasn't long before the Panthers were in the end zone, and on their way to the playoffs. The paper says the Panthers are relishing the chance to avenge their regular-season 44-30 loss to Illinois State in week three. A few players think the Redbirds insulted them by running in a touchdown with 35 seconds left while the outcome of the game no longer was in doubt.

JSU coach Jack Crowe points to another Gamecock whose play was crucial to the outcome of Saturday's game, according to The Anniston (Ala.) Star (sorry, subscribers only) - quarterback Matt Hardin. Crowe believes the junior should have been able to make more plays with his legs. In college football roundup items, The Star says Crowe may be backing off on the Gamecocks' scheduling, forgoing national powers such as Furman in favor of D-II teams such as North Alabama. The item says Chattanooga's reluctance to move the date of its 2007 contest with JSU has all but killed hopes of an Atlanta date with Georgia Southern to open the season. I'm just thinking out loud here, but is there some reason the GSU game can't be played Sept. 1? The folks at MocFans.com list the JSU-UTC game as Sept. 8, the second week of the season.

The Nashville City Paper says four I-A transfers who wound uip starting for Tennessee State helped turn the Tigers' fortunes around in 2006. But after defensive tackle Lamar Divens was ruled ineligible, linebacker Kelvin Baker was injured and sent out of the season, and quarterback Antonio Heffner and wide receiver Mike Mason spent several games banged up on the sidelines, playoff hopes simply slipped away.

Selection Sunday

2006-11-19T12:22:00.000-06:00

EDIT (1:01 p.m.): So just to review, your OVC playoff pairings for Saturday, Nov. 25 are as follows:
#6 Illinois State (8-3, 5-2) at #17 Eastern Illinois (8-4, 7-1)
#12 UT-Martin (9-2, 6-1) at #11 Southern Illinois (8-3, 4-3)

EDIT (12:4 p.m.): ESPN is carrying two first-round games next weekend, neither of them involving our OVC representatives. Stay tuned here throughout the week to see if any other network picks up our games.

EDIT (12:46 p.m.): UT-Martin is on the road, visiting SIU. Should they win, they'll face the winner of the game between No. 2 seed Montana and McNeese State. In the other half of that bracket, UMass is the No. 3 seed, hosting Lafayette. The winner of that game plays the winner of the contest between Hampton and New Hampshire.

EDIT (12:42 p.m.): Sorry, naturally that was Southern Illinois visiting EIU in the first round last year, and earning the 21-6 victory. EIU and Illinois State squared off in the regular season this year, with ISU getting a 44-30 win.

EDIT (12:38 p.m.): EIU is in! They host Illinois State in the first round. Isn't this a rematch of last year's first-round game? They're in the bracket with the #4 seed Youngstown State, who host James Madison, the 2004 champs.

EDIT (12:36 p.m.): First bracket ... #1 seed is Appalachian State. They host Coastal Carolina. The it's Montana State hosting Furman. Could make for a SoCon matchup in the quarterfinal round.

EDIT (12:33 p.m.): Now here we go ... for real this time.

EDIT (12:31 p.m.): Show now on ESPN News. Here we go. ... oops gotta preview the NFL first.

EDIT (12:24 p.m.): ESPN News has a promo on the screen in advance of the selection show. It reads "Div. I Football Selections 1:30ET" ... that looks nice.

ORIGINAL POST: Stay tuned here as we blog the playoff field as it's announced. Coming in 15 minutes from ESPN News. Also, you can follow along with the folks at CSN Waves (formerly I-AA waves), as they do their own selection show, streaming live on the Web. UT-Martin Coach and Eastern Illinois interim coach Mark Hutson are listed as guests. The show will be archived so you can listen later.

Sunday season's-end news

2006-11-19T10:49:00.000-06:00

Hard to believe it's already here, but here's the last round of regular-season post-game news:

Austin Peay State gave Western Kentucky more game than most had imagined possible, according to the (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle, trailing by just 3 at halftime. But the Govs' typical second-half slowdown cost them, with the Hilltoppers taking the 27-14 victory. APSU finishes 3-8, and will rejoin the OVC next year.

Eastern Kentucky piled up 391 yards of total offense, holding Tennessee State to 95 yards rushing, to secure the Colonels' 29th consecutive winning season. The Richmond (Ky.) Register reports the EKU locker room was hip-deep in emotion after the game. Senior defensive tackle Mark Cristiani tells the paper: “I just thank all the coaches that brought me here. If I have a son, he is going to be an Eastern Kentucky Colonel. I promise you that. I’ll be a Colonel for the rest of my life.”

The Anniston (Ala.) Star (sorry, subscribers only) says Jacksonville State came out flat in the second half, and let their 21-7 lead over Eastern Illnois slip away. The team's seniors, while losing this one, finish as the winningest class in JSU's Division I history. Eastern Illinois defensive end Donovan Johnson, meanwhile, says he'd rather be playing football next Saturday than nibbling on leftover turkey back in Anniston. He'll find out if that's the case today when the playoff field is announced.

The Southeast Missourian expresses a bit of the amazement I imagine SEMO feels, after Tennessee Tech came back from a 29-6 deficit to win the game 39-29. Tech quarterback Lee Sweeney was 32-of-57 for 437 yards. That was most of the Eagles' 562 yards of offense in the game. "Not even Arkansas gained more yards against the Redhawks," the paper notes.

Antonio Heffner and Mike Mason were back for Tennessee State, but apparently forgot to bring their skills with them. The (Nashville) Tennessean says TSU's offense was non-existant in the 20-3 loss to EKU. Putting a positive spin on the loss, the paper notes that it made the conference title picture much clearer than a Tigers' victory would have.

UT-Martin made history yesterday, according to the Jackson (Tenn.) Sun, winning the school's first conference championship. Ever. In doing so, they beat the team coached by the man who showed them the way, besting Matt Griffin's Murray State Racers 42-14. There's more uncharted territory ahead, as the Skyhawks get the leauge's automatic bid to the Division I Championship Playoffs. Stay tuned to find out where the next chapter will be written.

The (Cookeville, Tenn.) Herald-Citizen says Tennessee Tech's players and staff feel as good after winning the SEMO game as they might have if they'd won a conference title (here's a link to the HC sports section). While there might be a bit of uncertainty surrounding the program, with acting coach Doug Malone unsure of his status, QB Sweeney isn't letting that cloud his vision of the future. He tells the paper: "You never know what's going to happen. If it is the coaches' last game, they are going to go out with a win. If not, it's something to build on. We are going to come back next year and work even harder and win an OVC championship."

And there you have it, your first official prediction for the 2007 OVC championship. For now, It's Eastern Illinois' - and especially UT-Martin's - turn to celebrate.

Check back later today, as we blog about the OVC's hopes in the Division I Championship Playoffs, following the announcement of the brackets at 12:30 on ESPNews.

Pre-post-season look

2006-11-18T23:36:00.000-06:00

With the sun setting on the final weekend of OVC play, the OVC looks to be in its best shape for two playoff bids since the last time that feat was accomplished, in 2002.

Here's a quick look at who did what today:

UT-Martin 42, Murray State 14 - Martin left no doubt in Matt Griffin's mind exactly how far he'd taken the team before bolting to Murray State. The Skyhawks schooled the Racers and their former coach 42-14, to earn UTM's first playoff bid in school history.

Eastern Illinois 28, Jacksonville State 24 - EIU earned a share of its second-straight conference title and a good line on an at-large playoff spot with a come-from-behind win over JSU. The Gamecocks were up 21-7 at the break, but couldn't hold the Panthers back in the second half.

Eastern Kentucky 20, Tennessee State 3 - EKU finished its 29th-straight winning season with the victory over the Tigers, who had playoff aspirations heading into the game.

Tennessee Tech 32, Southeast Missouri State 29 - Tech ralled from 21-0 in the first half but managed to rally for the win to finish at .500 in OVC play.

Playoff hopes: UT-Martin is in for sure, and EIU makes a strong case with plenty of other team on the bubble at 7-4 ... though there's no telling what the committee will do. At least one knowledgeable prognosticator, The Sports Network's Matt Dougherty, figures the Panthers are in. He sees Martin visiting Illinois State in the first round, and EIU on the road at predicted fourth-seed Youngstown State.

The playoff committee makes its selections Sunday at 12:30 Central Time, with a live broadcast on ESPNews. See you then.

Saturday gameday news

2006-11-18T09:46:00.000-06:00

Here's what's happening on the final weekend of OVC action:

Tennessee State at Eastern Kentucky, noon
#12 UT-Martin at Murray State, 1 p.m.
Tennessee Tech at Southeast Missouri State, 1 p.m.
Jacksonville State at #17 Eastern Illinois, 1:30 p.m.

and at 4 p.m. Austin Peay State plays their final game before rejoining the OVC. They'll face another former OVC team in transition - Western Kentucky.

And here's the news:

Most folks aren't giving APSU a chance in Bowling Green, according to the (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle. But the Govs aren't counting themselves out. Freshman linebacker Daniel Becker tells the paper, "For us coming out of non-shcolarship, they're the biggest team we've played all year, they're perinneally a power house and won a national championship in 2002. So it's going to be big for our program. Everybody is going to be hyped up because Western overlooked all the guys here."

Most folks from Anniston, Ala., will be pulling for Jax State in today's game at Eastern Illinois (Anniston is Jacksonville's bigger next-door neighbor to the south). Not so Donovan Johnson, according to the (Charleston, Ill.) Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. This Annistonian not only will be pulling for the Panthers, he'll be playing defensive end.

The once-predicted conference championship now is out of reach, but The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal says that Eastern Kentucky has 29 years of winning tradition to play for today against TSU. The paper also briefs the Martin-Murray game and the APSU-WKU contest (think they realize that neither team is actually in the OVC?).

A long way from 29 winning seasons, the Murray (Ky.) Ledger & Times says Murray State is hoping to win a conference game today, something it hasn't done in at least two years. Doing it against one of the league leaders, a team the Racers' current coach apparently built into a powerhouse, will be no small task.

A winning season is out the window, so Southeast Missouri State will be looking to end with a win and their dignity today against Tennessee Tech, according to the Southeast Missourian.

They've only played in four games together, thanks to injuries, if there was ever a good time to play a fifth, it's today. Tennessee State will have both quarterback Antonio Heffner and wide receiver Mike Mason available for today's contest against at EKU, according to The (Nashville) Tennessean.

It's not quite like being in the conference title hunt, but for a team that was picked to finish near dead-last, it's something. Tennessee Tech can finish in 5th place in the OVC race, if they win and games around the league go their way today, according to the (Cookeville, Tenn.) Herald-Citizen. Here's a link to the HC sports section.

Friday news

2006-11-17T09:43:00.000-06:00

Here's what the papers have today on the OVC:

Austin Peay State may not have a lot to celebrate at 3-7, but entering Saturday's contest against Western Kentucky they can at least take pride in putting a I-AA top-10 running back on the field, according to the (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle. Junior Chris Fletcher has 1,297 yards on the season, and at 129.7 yards, is seventh nationally in the per-game average.

Eastern Illinois apaprently is feeling confident headed into the weekend. According to the (Charleston, Ill.) Journal Gazette/Times-Courier, EIU will host a playoff selection show party Sunday at 11:45 a.m. in the lobby of the EIU Fitness Center. Fans are welcome.

The (Nashville) Tennessean says sophomore defensive tackle Maurice Davis saw the light last week in Tennessee State's game against Southeast Missouri State - he really can be an outstanding football player. His realization might have had something to do with the three sacks he recorded in the game.

The Nashville City Paper says the odds are stacked against TSU heading into Saturday's game against Eastern Kentucky. But the fact that there are even any odds to stack is something Tigers fans can smile about. Going from a 2-9 2005 season to 6-4 (5-1 in conference) and playing for a shot at the playoffs - however desperate - is an accomplishment, the paper notes.

The (Cookeville. Tenn.) Herald-Citizen's Buddy Pearson takes his turn expressing awe at the tight race for the OVC title. Here's a link to the HC sports section.

Thursday news

2006-11-16T07:49:00.000-06:00

Here's what's online this morning:

Eastern Illinois defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni says he can't keep Jacksonville State running back Clay Green out of his mind, according to the (Charleston, Ill.) Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. Saturday the Panthers will be trying to keep him out of the end zone. Bellantoni says Green is the best back in the OVC.

JSU safety Kenny Brown will make his final start for JSU on Saturday. It'll also be his 45th start, and the final game game in a career that saw him start in every single game from the moment he took the field after his redshirt year, according to The Anniston (Ala.) Star.

The only new item from The Birmingham (Ala.) News about the dismissal of Samford coach Bill Gray is that Gray has been offered an administrative position in the athletics department. No word on whether he'll accept the job.

First coaching casualty

2006-11-15T22:41:00.000-06:00

The Birmingham (Ala.) News says Bill Gray is out at Samford. Here's a link to a short item the paper posted tonight. More to come tomorrow, I'm sure.

Gray was 27-33 over five and a half years after taking over in midseason 2001 for the fired Pete Hurt. In 2003 he was the OVC's coach of the year after posting a 7-4 record. Gray's Bulldogs were 3-8 this year, 1-7 in OVC play, including a season-ending 55-7 loss to in-state rival Jacksonville State.

Samfordbulldogs.com gets credit for posting this first, about an hour and a half ago.

Who's next?