Southeast Missouri State football team set to face top-ranked Jacksonville State

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz's wife, Lenna, asked him how No. 1 Jacksonville State looked on film after he'd watched it on Sunday.

His response was that he thought he might've been exhausted from the Redhawks' game the night before because they looked, "unbeatable," and that he'd tell her what he thought after watching it again Monday.

"I come home [Monday] and, hell, they were better," Matukewicz said, "so we've got our work cut out for us, but we're not going to back down and we're going to enjoy the challenge."

Southeast will face the Gamecocks, who can clinch a share of their second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference title with a win vs. Southeast, at 1 p.m. Saturday at Burgess-Snow Field in Jacksonville, Alabama.

JSU, which went 8-0 in the OVC last season, has won 15 consecutive conference games. The Gamecocks are 8-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play. Their lone loss was a 27-20 overtime loss to Football Bowl Subdivision Auburn in Week 2.

Southeast Missouri State quarterback Dante Vandeven lines up a pass against Eastern Kentucky during the second quarter Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015 at Houck Stadium. (Fred Lynch)

JSU has defeated Southeast in the last seven meetings.

The Gamecocks boast the top scoring defense in the conference and are tied for fifth nationally, allowing an average of 14.6 points per game. Southeast is second in the OVC with an average of 23.9 points allowed.

"Defensively they just kind of suffocate you, and you get frustrated and things like that, and we've just got to stay the course and do what we've done," Matukewicz said. "Defensively we're going to have to play well, hold them down scoring-wise because they're just so good on their defense."

JSU is tops in the OVC in yards allowed, holding opponents to an average of 257.6 yards per game overall and just 93.1 yards rushing.

"Everything's just real, real tight, so it's an overloaded box with tight, tight coverage out there, a lot of one-on-one type coverages, so we've got to be able to make a play," Matukewicz said. "Tremane [McCullough's] got to be able to make a guy miss, Paul [McRoberts] has got to high-point a ball. We need to be able to big-play them a little bit."

JSU averages 490.2 yards of offense and 35 points per game. The Gamecocks have rushed for more than 300 yards in three games this season.

They've converted on 42.1 percent of their third-down attempts.

"They're real big and physical," Matukewicz said. "The quarterback is like a running back and he's big, so it's just tough. We're not going to stop their running game, we've just got to manage it. You can't miss tackles, and you can't misfit or make a mental bust and have them go the distance. They're going to get their yards, but they just can't have explosive runs, and then we've got to be able to get off the field on third down."

Series history

Jacksonville State leads the series 14-5

Last meeting

Jacksonville State defeated Southeast 49-30 last season in Cape Girardeau.

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By the numbers

1 -- Southeast junior running back Tremane McCullough ranks first in the Ohio Valley Conference in rushing by one yard more than JSU senior RB Troymaine Pope. McCullough has racked up 878 yards, averaging 6.4 per carry, while Pope's rushed for 877 and 7.2 per carry. McCullough and Pope have more than 130 yards rushing compared to the league's third best.

3 -- The Redhawks have gone three straight games without turning the ball over. Southeast leads the conference and is tied for seventh in the nation in turnover margin at plus-10. The Redhawks forced two fumbles last week vs. Austin Peay. JSU is tied for second in the conference with a margin of plus-6. The Gamecocks have lost six fumbles on the season and thrown three interceptions. They've intercepted more passes than anyone in the OVC with 13.

27 -- Southeast is tops in the conference and 11th in the country with 27 sacks. JSU is No. 2 in the league with 24 sacks. Junior linebacker leads Southeast and is tied for fourth in the conference with 4.5 sacks and sophomore linebacker Chad Meredith is tied for ninth in the OVC with 3.5. JSU's Darius Jackson and Chris Landrum lead the Gamecocks with 4 and 3, respectively.

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Stat leaders

Jacksonville State

Passing: Eli Jenkins 1,779 yards, Christian LeMay 236, Dalton Etheridge 22

Receiving: Josh Barge 687, Ruben Gonzalez 436, Dalton Screws 245

Rushing: Troymaine Pope 877, Eli Jenkins 454, Miles Jones 410

Tackles: Brandon Bender 52, Dawson Wells 51, Joel McCandleuss 44

Southeast

Passing: Dante Vandeven 1,103 yards, Tay Bender 311, Alex Niznak 10

Receiving: Paul McRoberts 720, Tremane McCullough 126, Darrius Darden-Box 113

Rushing: Tremane McCullough 878, DeMichael Jackson 265, Dante Vandeven 232

Tackles: Roper Garrett 80, Chad Meredith 57, Eriq Moore 47

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Jacksonville State head coach John Grass congratulates wide receiver Josh Barge (12) after he scored a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Auburn, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Opposing coach's view

"I've got respect for the way they play the game. Watched them on tape -- they play fast and hard, and have got, in my opinion, one of, if not, the best offensive threats we've played [in Paul McRoberts]. And they've got a young quarterback [Dante Vandeven], really talented guy. And they just get after you on defense. Got our work cut out for us this week with SEMO coming in here."

-- John Grass, Jacksonville State coach

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Scouting the opponent

Jacksonville State quarterback Eli Jenkins (7) throws a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Auburn, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

There are few flaws for the top-ranked Jacksonville State Gamecocks.

They enter Saturday's contest with a seven-game winning streak and have won those games by a margin of 26.9 points.

The JSU defense has stifled most of its conference opponents -- apart from allowing 41 points to UT Martin on Sept. 26 -- and given up just 10 points in its last three games.

"Heading into this season, the biggest question mark surrounding this team was at the linebacker position," Anniston Star reporter Chris Allen Brown said. "Everyone knew about the 'All-SEC' defensive line they had in Devaunte Sigler (Auburn), LaMichael Fanning (Alabama), Chris Landrum Sr. (Auburn) and Allan Carson (Tennessee), but a lot of people didn't know who was going to be starting at the second level in the defense. Coach John Grass lost three starters at the position from a year ago in Ben Endress, Michael Carlisle and Nigel Terrell. Now, it's hard to watch a Jacksonville State game and not see those guys at the linebacker position making plays."

Linebackers Dawson Wells and Joel McCandless are second and third on the team with 51 and 44 tackles, respectively.

Wells was named the OVC's defensive player of the week the last two weeks. He's returned an interception for a touchdown in each of JSU's last two games and has three interceptions on the season.

Eli Jenkins leads the Gamecocks offense at QB. He's the top rushing quarterback in the OVC, averaging 50.4 yards per game. He's thrown for an average of 197.7 yards per game, completing 64.1 percent of his passes.

Receiver Josh Barge is Jenkins' top target. He's caught 61 passes for 687 yards and seven touchdowns. WR Ruben Gonzalez has 436 yards and a pair of TDs on 31 catches while Dalton Screws has two touchdowns and 245 yards on 20 catches.

RB Troymaine Pope is JSU's top rusher with 877 yards and eight touchdowns on 121 carries.

"Grass has full trust in his third-year starter from Birmingham, so if Eli wants to audible at the line to a better play, that usually results in a big play," Brown said. "During his first year at the position, he was a run-first quarterback, but now with record-setter receiver in Josh Barge, go-getter Ruben Gonzalez to lineup alongside reliable Dalton Screws, Jenkins is on pace to set career-highs in passing and No. 3 in Jacksonville State history in total offense with another season yet to play."

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OVC Schedule

Saturday

• #24 Eastern Kentucky at Murray State, 1 p.m.
• Austin Peay at Tennessee Tech, 1:30 p.m.
• Eastern Illinois at UT Martin, 2 p.m.

The Panthers and Skyhawks are trying to make a playoff case for themselves in the final two weeks of the regular season. EIU (5-4, 5-1 OVC) is coming off a loss to No. 1 Jacksonville State while UT Martin (6-3, 5-1 OVC) handed No. 24 EKU its second conference loss 42-35 last week. The Panthers received 17 votes in the STATS FCS Poll and one in the FCS Coaches Poll this week. UTM got 211 in the STATS FCS Poll and 33 in the FCS Coaches Poll.