Nov. 13, 2003

THE TEAMS: Southeast Missouri has won four of its last five to stand 4-6 overall and 4-2 in the OVC. Southeast has OVC wins over Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee-Martin and Tennessee State 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.

Tennessee Tech is 2-7 overall and 1-5 in the OVC. The Golden Eagles have lost five straight.

THE COACHES: Tim Billings, a former assistant at Marshall, Missouri and Oklahoma is 19-25 in his fourth season at Southeast. He was the 2002 OVC Coach of the Year and the AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year. Billings is 1-2 vs. Tech.

Mike Hennigan is 42-43 in his eighth season at Tennessee Tech.

THE SERIES: Tennessee Tech leads the series 6-5.

LAST SEASON: Willie Ponder recovered a blocked punt in the end zone to give the Indians a 36-30 win at Houck Stadium. Jack Tomco was 20-35 for 246 yards and one TD.

LAST WEEK: Southeast had its biggest point total since 1985 in a 52-35 win over Tennessee State. Jamel Oliver had 15 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns and added three catches for 38 yards and a touchdown. His TD runs were from 54 and 82 yards.

OVC HONORS PATTERSON: Junior defensive back Dimitri Patterson was honored as the OVC Defensive Player of the Week 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.

STILL IN THE PLAYOFF HUNT: With two games 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 5-1 record while Southeast is tied for second at 4-2 with Tennessee State and Eastern Kentucky. The Indians have already beaten EKU and TSU and will host Jacksonville State in the regular season finale at Houck Stadium. If Southeast wins its final two games, the Indians will be in the I-AA playoffs for the first time ever.

OVC HONORS GOODENOUGH: Junior quarterback Andrew Goodenough 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 29-48 passes for 268 yards and one TD with two 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.

SIMONHOFF LEADS OVC PUNTERS: Freshman Dave Simonhoff leads the OVC in punting. He averages 41.8 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 13-16 in field goals and 25-25 on PAT's.

GOODSON LEADS SE RECEIVERS: Tight end Ray Goodson leads Southeast in receiving with 57 catches for 538 yards. He ranks third in the OVC in receptions per game with 5.70 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. Last week 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 101 carries for 518 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), Adam Jones (knee), and Chris NesSmith (knee) are out for the Tech game.

Andrew Goodenough (ribs) is probable but his role as starter or backup won't be determined until pre-game warm-ups.

Linebacker Corey Andrade (shoulder) who missed the Tennessee State game, and quarterback Jeromy McDowell (shoulder) are probable for the Tech game.

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, 162.3 yards per game, total offense, 159.1 yards per game and passing efficiency at 118.2.

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

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.

NEXT GAME: Southeast closes the regular season at Houck Stadium vs. league leading Jacksonville State, 1 p.m., Nov. 22.

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. NEXT GAME: Southeast closes the regular season at Houck Stadium vs. league leading Jacksonville State, 1 p.m., Nov. 22.

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.