We played our first really big football game in a long time Saturday and got beaten 44-27 by a very good Eastern Illinois team. It is sort of like learning to ride a bicycle. We took off the training wheels and gave it a good ride, but we scraped our knee a few times.

It was a loss and that hurts, but it should be a great learning experience for our football team. We did a lot of things well in the game, but we have to learn that you have to play great for more than just one quarter.

Championship teams play great for four quarters. Eastern Illinois showed why they are champions. We had them down 21-7 early in the second quarter, but they didn't panic, they just played their game, regained the momentum and once they got it they didn't look back.

That game should be a building block for our program. It is tough to take on a championship team and win. We did some really good things, but we lacked the consistency needed to knock off a champion.

Our game at Murray State on Saturday is a huge game that will set the tone for the rest of our season. Both teams have just one Ohio Valley Conference loss so far. To keep championship hopes alive and to keep playoff hopes alive, it is a must-win game for both teams.

We have the big-game experience from last week's game and we will just have to see how our team reacts. We need to get back on the winning trail and have an opportunity for a great season.

After the Middle Tennessee game, I said that we would see if we had the maturity to handle winning. We were successful in beating Tennessee State and Tennessee-Martin.

After the loss to Eastern Illinois we have to see if we have the maturity to bounce back. We need to use the lessons learned from that game as a springboard for the rest of the season.

We've had great practices this week and we seem to be bouncing back, but the proof will be Saturday.

We continue to be involved in a number of firsts. We had never beaten a Division I-A team, but we beat Middle Tennessee. We haven't beaten Murray State since 1992 and we haven't won at Murray since 1978. We need to end those streaks.

Our fan support in the rain last Saturday was tremendous. I hope you will make the short trip to Murray for Saturday's 2:30 p.m. kickoff. The game will be televised on Fox Sports South that goes into more than nine million homes in the south. It is also being made available in Cape Girardeau on Charter Cable channel 11.

If you can't be at the game, I hope you will watch us on television. But why not make up some signs, go to the game and be on television yourselves?

Being on regional television is very big for our football program and for the university and community. For three hours on Saturday we will represent Southeast and the region on a telecast that goes into more than nine million homes. We could not afford to buy that type of advertising.

The television exposure is great, but what we really need is a win. I'll see you on Saturday in Murray.

Tim Billings is the football coach at Southeast Missouri State University