Home opener will take rivalry to national stage

A great rivalry, great community pride in each football team, excitement in both communities, regional television coverage on Fox Sports Net Midwest and Fox Sports Net Chicago and two excellent football teams should make for a great Saturday night at Houck Stadium.

I'm excited because this is what we have been building for. This is big-time football with a small-town price. The exposure on Fox Sports Net television will send the game into more than five million homes, and the game will be available nationwide on Fox Sports Digital. This gives us a chance to showcase our university, Cape Girardeau and the region.

We expect a full house and a great football game. This is something to be a part of. Bring your kids and show them what a great football Saturday is all about. Make signs -- you might be on national television.

There will be tailgate festivities outside the stadium with a large tent just south of Houck Field House with free hot dogs and beverages. Come early, enjoy the festivities and prepare for a great football game.

If Southeast and Southern Illinois play up to their potential, this will be as good a football game as any in the country. It will be the highlight of the year with some of the top football players at any level.

There are just 16 current candidates for the Walter Payton Award, the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy at the I-AA level, and two of the 16 will be on the field Saturday night. Southern Illinois features Muhammad Abdulquaadir, one of the nation's top running backs and probably the early favorite to win the Payton Award. He rushed for 142 yards and scored three touchdowns last week on just 10 carries.

Our own Jack Tomco is also one of the 16 candidates for the Payton Award. Jack is coming off a great season when he passed for more than 3,000 yards and 29 touchdowns. He didn't have one of his better games last week at Ohio, but going into the SIU game he is our quarterback, and we will give him a chance to lead this team.

We had too many turnovers last week at Ohio, but that game is behind us, and we need to show a lot of improvement this week. The team is working hard in practice because they know the importance of this game. We played hard at Ohio, but we need to play hard and execute against a much improved Southern Illinois team.

We needed a late great touchdown catch by Willie Ponder to beat the Salukis in Carbondale last year.

I'm really happy Willie has made the New York Giants team and will be on the field Sunday when the Giants host the Rams. It's good to know Willie grew as a player and a person during his two years at Southeast. We wish him the best of luck this season as he learns the pro game.

I know it is early in the season, but the games just don't get any better than Saturday night's matchup between Southeast and Southern Illinois. It will be the 72nd meeting between the two teams, and with all the television coverage it will probably have the biggest audience of any of the previous games. This is the first time Southeast has hosted a regionally televised game is available nationally.

We'll see you at Houck Stadium on Saturday for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff.

Tim Billings is the head football coach at Southeast Missouri State University.