Trio's dominance already contested in opening weeks

Last year, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Illinois and Jacksonville State went 18-0 against the rest of the Ohio Valley Conference.

With those three teams picked 1-2-3 in the OVC preseason poll, many people expected their league dominance to continue.

But the possibility of that trio again sweeping the OVC's other six squads already has been eliminated -- not once but twice, both in the span of three days.

First, host Tennessee Tech pulled off a stunning 27-14 upset of preseason favorite Eastern Kentucky on Thursday night in the OVC opener for both teams.

Then host Tennessee-Martin shocked Jacksonville State 24-14 on Saturday night. It was the Skyhawks' conference opener, while the Gamecocks had blasted Southeast Missouri State by 31 points the previous week.

Tennessee Tech (1-3, 1-0) had been the OVC's least impressive team through three weeks. The Eagles were outscored 105-33, were the only conference squad without a win and ranked last in the league in scoring offense and total offense.

But the Eagles used a dominant second half to avenge last year's 52-3 loss at Eastern Kentucky (1-3, 0-1).

Trailing 14-7 at halftime, Tennessee Tech outscored the Colonels 20-0 in the second half while limiting Eastern Kentucky to 94 yards of total offense.

Offensively for the Eagles, Anthony Ash rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown, while Larry Shipp caught two touchdown passes from Lee Sweeney.

"We just played as a team and we believed," Tennessee Tech coach Doug Malone told the Cookeville Herald-Citizen. "I don't think a lot of people believed we could beat Eastern Kentucky. Our kids believed that we could and they played like it."

Tennessee-Martin (3-1,1-0) had been one of the OVC's most impressive teams through three weeks, ranking in the top 20 in all five major Division I-AA defensive categories -- and the Skyhawks played like it against the Gamecocks.

The Skyhawks held Jacksonville State (1-2, 1-1) to 91 yards rushing -- its lowest total since being held to 73 yards at Kansas in 2003 -- and 221 total yards. Gamecocks' tailback Clay Green rushed for just 78 yards, ending his string of nine consecutive 100-yard games in OVC play.

On offense for the Skyhawks, E.J. Daniel scored touchdowns on a punt return and a pass reception, while Marcus Dawson rushed for 144 yards. Dawson, a junior college transfer, has 294 yards in the last two weeks.

It was the first win for Tennessee-Martin over a ranked Division I-AA team since 1993.

"Obviously, it was a big game for this program. There comes a time sooner or later that you have to beat one of the traditional power teams in this conference," Tennessee-Martin coach Jason Simpson said Tuesday during the OVC's weekly coaches teleconference. "I was really pleased with the poise our team showed, how hard we played in all three phases."

Said Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe: "We played a very good football team in Tennessee-Martin. I don't think we played as good as we can play by any means, but that in no way takes credit away from a fine Tennessee-Martin football team."

The fallout from those two results for Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State is two-fold.

First, the Colonels and Gamecocks both dropped out of the national rankings, after they had been 24th and 25th, respectively.

Probably more importantly, it's doubtful that either team can afford another conference loss in order to win the title. You have to go all the way back to 1962 to find the last time the OVC champion had more than one defeat.

So when Jacksonville State visits Eastern Kentucky this Saturday, the squads will be playing what very well could amount to an early elimination game.

"I think it [a loss] would definitely set one of these two teams back significantly," Crowe said. "I think clearly anybody that has lost twice in the conference is down considerably."

Eastern Kentucky coach Danny Hope does not rule out the possibility of a team losing twice and still having a shot to at least share the crown. The Colonels have not started out with an 0-2 OVC record since 1960.

"I think you can lose a couple and still compete at the top of the league. The league is a heck of a lot better than it's been," Hope said.

While Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State were losing, defending champion Eastern Illinois (2-2, 1-0) avoided the upset bug by winning 24-13 at Samford (2-2, 0-1).

After the OVC last week had three nationally ranked teams for the first time since the 2003 preseason, Eastern Illinois remains alone in the poll, checking in at No. 20.

Also last week, Murray State and Tennessee State dropped nonconference matchups.

Murray State (1-3, 0-1) hung tough with sixth-ranked Illinois State, but the visiting Redbirds broke a 14-14 halftime tie and won 35-14.

Tennessee State (2-2, 1-0) trailed Division I-A Vanderbilt just 10-3 late in the third quarter before the host Commodores romped 38-9.

Players of the week

Eastern Illinois senior tailback Vincent Webb is the OVC offensive player of the week, rushing for a career-high 208 yards and a touchdown against Samford. He moved into fifth place (3,386 yards) on the school's career rushing list while registering his 16th 100-yard rushing performance.

Tennessee Tech freshman linebacker Aaron Williams won the defensive award. He had 11 tackles and recovered a fumble against Eastern Kentucky.

Tennessee Tech senior punter Jon Mahan and Tennessee-Martin sophomore wide receiver E.J. Daniel earned specialist and newcomer honors, respectively.

Mahan averaged 50 yards on four punts against Eastern Kentucky. He placed two punts inside the 20-yard line, including an 84-yard boot that was downed at the Colonels' 8 and was later featured as the No. 4 pick on ESPN SportsCenter's "Top Plays of the Day."

Daniel, a transfer from Louisville, scored against Jacksonville State on a 52-yard punt return and a 42-yard reception. He caught three passes for 63 yards and finished with 115 all-purpose yards.