Nov. 19, 2003

Jacksonville State at Southeast Missouri

Ohio Valley Conference Championship Game

Date: Nov. 22, 2003

Time: 1:00 p.m. (CST)

Location: Houck Stadium, Cape Girardeau, Mo. (10,000)

2003 Records: Jacksonville State 7-3 (6-1 OVC), Southeast Missouri 5-6 (5-2 OVC)

The Coaches: Tim Billings is 20-25 in his fourth season at Southeast Missouri

Jack Crowe is 21-21 in his fourth season at Jacksonville State

Radio: Southeast Radio Network anchored by K-103 FM in Cape Girardeau. Other network stations include KSIM in Sikeston and KWOC in Poplar Bluff. Erik Sean will do play-by-play with Rick Wieser as the color analyst. Internet: Southeast Radio Network can be hard over the internet at www.gosoutheast.com or www.k103fm.com.

www.GoSoutheast.com

THE TEAMS: Southeast Missouri has won five of its last six to stand 5-6 overall and 5-2 in the OVC. A win in the regular season finale against Jacksonville State will give Southeast a share of the OVC championship and a berth in the I-AA playoffs. Southeast has OVC wins over Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee-Martin, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech with losses to Samford and Murray State. The Indians have non-conference losses to I-A schools Ohio and Arkansas State and Gateway Conference teams SIU and Southwest Missouri.

Jacksonville State has already claimed a share of the OVC championship but must beat Southeast to advance to the playoffs. The Gamecocks are 7-3 overall and 6-1 in the OVC.

THE COACHES: Tim Billings, a former assistant at Marshall, Missouri and Oklahoma is 20-25 in his fourth season at Southeast. He was the 2002 OVC Coach of the Year and the AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year.

Jack Crowe, former head coach at Arkansas, is 21-21 in his fourth season at Jacksonville State and is 35-51 in his seventh year as a collegiate head coach.

THE SERIES: Southeast leads the series 4-3. The teams last met in 1971 with the Gamecocks winning 57-0.

LAST WEEK: Southeast Missouri kept its title hopes alive with a 24-20 road win over Tennessee Tech. Jack Tomco completed 28-45 passes for 353 yards and three TD's with one interception. The Southeast defense picked off six Tech passes.

Jacksonville State claimed at least a share of the OVC title by beating Eastern Illinois 36-24.

STILL IN THE PLAYOFF HUNT: With one game remaining in the regular season, Southeast is still in the running for at least a share of the OVC championship and a bid to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. Jacksonville State leads the OVC with a 6-1 record while Southeast is tied for second at 5-2 Eastern Kentucky.

The Indians have already beaten EKU and will host Jacksonville State in the regular season finale at Houck Stadium. If Southeast wins its final game, the Indians will be in the I-AA playoffs for the first time ever.

The playoff pairings for the 16-team I-AA playoffs will be announced at noon on Sunday.

OPPOSITES VIE FOR PLAYOFF BERTH: Southeast Missouri averages 252.8 yards per game passing while Jacksonville State averages just 112.1 yards per game through the air. In pass defense, Southeast is second in the OVC, allowing 172.9 yards per game while the Gamecocks are last in the OVC allowing 273.8 yards per game.

The Gamecocks lead the OVC in rushing offense with 255.1 yards per game while Southeast averages just 119.3 yards per game on the ground.

Southeast is fourth in the OVC in total offense with 372.1 yards per game while Jacksonville State is fifth with 367.2 yards per game.

On defense, Southeast is third in the OVC, giving up 337.7 yards per game while the Gamecocks are sixth, allowing 374.2 yards per game.

RED ZONE COLLISION: Jacksonville State leads the OVC in red zone conversions with 31-36 for 86.1%. Southeast is tops in red zone defense allowing opponents to score just 70.7% of the time

O.J. Turner IS OVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior linebacker O.J. Turner was honored as the OVC Defensive Player of the Week after 12 tackles, two tackles for losses of four yards, one pass deflection and one interception returned 18 yards.

GOODENOUGH IS PROBABLE: Junior quarterback Andrew Goodenough, who did not play at Tennessee Tech because of a rib injury, is probable for the Jacksonville State game. He made his first start against Tennessee-Martin and was honored as the OVC Newcomer of the Week. He completed 19-29 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. For the season, Goodenough has completed 44-71 passes for 499 yards and two TD's with four interceptions.

THIRD DOWN EFFICENCY: Southeast is second in the OVC in third down efficiency, converting 39.2 per cent of third down plays.

Defensively, Southeast is last in third down efficiency, allowing opponents to convert 45.3 percent of the time.

SOUTHEAST FORCES FUMBLES: Senior linebacker Ricky Farmer, the OVC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 4,is tied for the league lead in fumbles forced with three. Teammates Dimitri Patterson and O.J. Turner are also tied for first in fumbles forced.

PATTERSON LEADS OVC IN INTERCEPTIONS: Junior defensive back Dimitri Patterson had two interceptions vs. Tennessee Tech to move into first place in the OVC with five for the season. He was honored as the OVC Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 8 after recording 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for losses of three yards, broke up four passes and had an interception in the win over Tennessee State.

SIMONHOFF TIED FOR OVC LEAD IN PUNTING: Freshman Dave Simonhoff is tied for the OVC lead in punting. He averages 40.8 yards per punt while Richie Rhodes of Jacksonville State also averages 40.8 yards per punt.

KUTZ CONNECTS: Junior kicker Derek Kutz, who had the game winning field goal against Eastern Kentucky, leads the OVC in field goal and extra point accuracy. He is 14-19 in field goals and 28-28 on PAT's.

GOODSON LEADS SE RECEIVERS: Tight end Ray Goodson leads Southeast in receiving with 57 catches for 538 yards. He ranks second in the OVC in receptions per game with 5.73 and ranks eighth in yards per game with 53.8.

OLIVER HAS BIG GAME: Jamel Oliver moved to the Southeast offensive backfield for the first time in the Samford game and rushed the ball 15 times for 98 yards and one touchdown. He had previously played only as a wide receiver and return man.

Against Tennessee State, Oliver had 15 carries for 186 yards and two TD's on scoring runs of 54 and 82 yards. He also had three catches for 38 yards and one TD.

Oliver is currently third in OVC touchdowns with an average of 6.0 points per game.

For the season, he leads Southeast rushers with 116 carries for 543 yards and a team-high nine touchdowns.

In high school, Oliver was an all-state running back at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte, Fla. He has 4.4 speed in the 40.

INJURIES: Defensive backs Marco Tipton (knee) and Mike Miller (knee) are both out indefinitely.

Defensive ends Edgar Jones (ankle), and Adam Jones (knee), are out for the Jacksonville State game.

Andrew Goodenough (ribs),linebacker Corey Andrade (shoulder) who missed the Tennessee State game, and quarterback Jeromy McDowell (shoulder) are probable for the Jacksonville game.

Chris NesSmith will play as a holder only.

TOMCO PICKED FOR ALL-STAR GAME: Senior quarterback Jack Tomco is among the first 50 players to be named to play in the inaugural I-AA College Football All-Star Classic on Dec. 30 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The game will be televised by the Football Network.

Tomco is currently ranked third in the OVC in passing, 181.4 yards per game, total offense, 179.1 yards per game and passing efficiency at 123.2.

Last week against Tennessee Tech, Tomco was 28-45 for 353 yards and three TD's with one interception.

Tomco was on the initial Sports Network Payton Watch List. The list profiles 16 potential candidates for the Walter Payton Award which is the I-AA equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Tomco, who passed for over 3,000 yards and 29 touchdowns last season, is just the second Southeast player to ever be on the watch list. Last season, Willie Ponder was added to the list at mid-season and ended up fourth in the Payton Award voting.

Currently, Tomco has been removed from the Payton Watch List.

OVC HONORS:

9-20 - David Taufoou, Newcomer of Week

10-4 - Ricky Farmer, Defensive Player of Week

10-4 - Derek Kutz, Special Teams Player of Week

10-18 - Dave Simonhoff, Newcomer of Week

11-1 - Andrew Goodenough, Newcomer of Week

11-8 - Dimitri Patterson, Defensive Player of Week

11-15 - O.J. Turner, Defensive Player of Week

NUMBER CHANGE WITH MEANING: Senior defensive end Ryan Roth will wear number 32 this season to honor the memory of a high school teammate who was killed in the collapse of an apartment deck near Wrigley Field in Chicago on June 28. Rob Koranda was captain of the Naperville (Illinois) North High School team when Roth was a junior. Koranda, who wore number 32, went on to play college football at Princeton before a shoulder injury ended his football career. "Koranda was a friend who was a real inspiration to me,: said Roth who is a preseason all-OVC selection at defensive end. "I want to wear number 32 to honor his memory."

BIG HOME CROWDS: A Houck Stadium record crowd of 11,100 and a regional television audience on Fox Sports Net Midwest and Fox Sports Net Chicago saw the home opener against SIU.

The previous record crowd was 11,015 for the Family Weekend game vs. Eastern Kentucky in 1999.

There were 9,800 fans on hand for the Family Weekend game vs. SMS.

A crowd of 8,600 and a national television audience on The Football Network, saw the Indians win over Eastern Illinois.

Rain and cold weather limited the Murray State game to 4,350 and a crowd of 5,375 was on hand for the Tennessee State game.

For five home games, Southeast averages 7,845 fans per game.

TEAM ELECTS SIX CAPTAINS: The team has elected three offensive and three defensive captains. Offensive captains include quarterback Jack Tomco, center Eugene Amano and kicker Derek Kutz. Defensive captains include end Ryan Roth, linebacker Ricky Farmer and back Dimitri Patterson.

OVC FAVORITE: For the first time ever, Southeast has been picked to win the Ohio Valley Conference title in voting by the league head coaches. Murray State was picked second, Eastern Illinois third, Eastern Kentucky fourth, Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech tied for fifth, Tennessee State seventh, Samford eighth and Tennessee-Martin ninth. Street & Smith's 2003 Football National Preview also picked Southeast to win the OVC crown.

PRESEASON ALL-OVC: Southeast had a league-high seven players named preseason all-OVC with three more players gaining honorable mention. Jack Tomco, Corey Kinsey, Eugene Amano and Dan Connolly were first team selections on offense with Ryan Roth, Marco Tipton and Dimitri Patterson honored on defense. Honorable mention selections were Ricky Farmer, Mike Miller and Dan Bieg. Currently, Tipton and Miller are out indefinitely with knee injuries and Kinsey has been dismissed from the team.

PONDER A NEW YORK GIANT: Willie Ponder, consensus All-American wide receiver last season for Southeast, is currently a member of the New York Giants who drafted him in the sixth round of the NFL draft.

BILLINGS ON TELEVISION: Southeast Missouri Football with Tim Billings is televised weekly on UPN-The Beat. Steve Sotak hosts the show that airs at 6:30 p.m. each Thursday.

Tim Billings RADIO SHOW: Tim Billings has a one-hour radio show each Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. The show is broadcast live from Buffalo Wild Wings in Cape Girardeau on ESPN Radio, 1220 AM. Erik Sean is host for the show that also includes call-ins and audience participation.

NEXT GAME: A Southeast win will put the Indians in the NCAA I-AA playoffs with a game on Saturday, Nov. 29. A loss ends the season with Southeast slated to open the 2004 season on Sept. 4 at SIU.