Redhawks face ranked Arkansas this week

~ Southeast plays its first Division I-A ranked opponent Saturday.

Southeast Missouri State coach Tony Samuel has no doubt his players are excited about testing themselves against a nationally ranked Division I-A opponent.

Just don't expect Samuel to be nearly as fired up regarding Saturday's 1 p.m. game at Arkansas.

Samuel realizes the Division I-AA Redhawks (3-2, 1-2 Ohio Valley Conference) are playing the No. 17 Razorbacks (4-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) for one reason: money.

In exchange for what figures to be a lopsided loss, Southeast's athletic department will receive the tidy sum of $300,000.

Asked during his weekly media briefing Monday if he was looking forward to the game, a smiling Samuel said, "I'd rather not play them, to be quite honest. It's a total mismatch. They've got more scholarships, more money, better facilities, they're in a better league, more TV money .... other than that, we've got a chance."

Added Samuel, "It's a great experience for the players. As coaches, it's not as good an experience. The mismatch is just too large."

But, said Samuel, as the Redhawks develop their program over the next few years, he might not be so apprehensive about taking on a national power like Arkansas.

"Now, a couple years down the road, when I feel like we can get this thing running ... have a better opportunity ... it's fine," he said.

Arkansas will be the 12th Division I-A opponent Southeast has faced since moving to Division I-AA in 1991, but the Redhawks have never before played a team from one of the nation's premier conferences.

The Razorbacks will also represent the first nationally ranked Division I-A squad Southeast has faced. They broke into the rankings for the first time since 2003 by virtue of Saturday's 27-10 upset at then-No. 2 Auburn. Arkansas is No. 17 in The Associated Press poll and No. 23 according to USA Today.

Arkansas rushed for 279 yards against an Auburn defense that was regarded as one of the nation's best. The Razorbacks had two running backs top 100 yards apiece.

"They're a very physical team," Samuel said. "I saw them run the ball down Auburn's throat."

While acknowledging the marked difference in talent between the two teams, Samuel is also concerned about the depth factor, since Division I-A programs are allowed 85 scholarships compared to 63 in Division I-AA. Southeast also has several key players nursing injuries.

Samuel said he plans on substituting freely, with an eye on the rest of the season (after Saturday, Southeast has five games remaining, all OVC matchups). But at certain positions there aren't that many backups to go around.

"We'll play a lot of people. We'll approach it like a preseason game, where the score doesn't matter," Samuel said. "That being said, there are some individual challenges ... you want to go against the best and Arkansas has proven to be one of the best in the country.

"There will be some interesting matchups."

Injury update

Southeast has been without two offensive line starters for a good part of the season.

Right tackle Francisco Perez has missed the past three games with a broken foot while left guard Austin Russell has missed the past two games because of problems stemming from a concussion, although he did long snap during Saturday's 21-0 loss at Eastern Illinois.

Farmington High School product Joe Goff has been starting in place of Perez, while junior college transfer Richard Kazarian has started in place of Russell.

Russell should be available for line duty against Arkansas, and Samuel said he hopes to have Perez back for the Oct. 21 game against Eastern Kentucky.

As for tailback Tim Holloman, who had been Southeast's leading rusher on the season prior to Saturday despite missing the previous game with an ankle injury, Samuel said following the Eastern Illinois contest that he would likely hold Holloman out of the Arkansas game.

Holloman saw action on only a few plays early in the second half at Eastern Illinois. He carried twice for eight yards.

Asked Monday about Holloman availability for Arkansas, Samuel said, "If he's not 100 percent, there's no reason to play him."

Statistically speaking

Junior linebacker Adam Casper was credited with 20 tackles against Eastern Illinois. He now leads the OVC and ranks 13th nationally in Division I-AA with 10.6 tackles per game.

Southeast continue to boast two national Division I-AA leaders.

Despite averaging just 38.7 yards on seven attempts against Eastern Illinois, senior David Simonhoff is first in punting with a 45.04-yard average.

Senior defensive end Edgar Jones ranks first in sacks per game and tackles for loss per game. He has nine and 11, respectively.

As a team, the Redhawks are second in the nation in turnover margin at 2.0 per game despite committing their first turnovers of the season against Eastern Illinois. Southeast has three turnovers and 13 takeaways.

Noteworthy

* Southeast is 1-10 against Division I-A teams as a I-AA program, the lone victory being 24-14 at Middle Tennessee State in 2002.

* Southeast and Arkansas have met once before on the football field -- but that was 100 years ago. In 1906, Arkansas beat Southeast 12-0.