Redhawks, Racers look to end skids

Murray State has lost five straight games, while Southeast has dropped its last three.

By MARTY MISHOW

Southeast Missourian

After Murray State bottomed out to its worst Ohio Valley Conference record since 1966 last season, Matt Griffin was brought in to revive what had previously been a solid program.

Griffin, who helped orchestrate a major turnaround at Tennessee-Martin, knew things would not be easy.

So far Griffin is right, because the Racers (1-7, 0-5) are last in the nine-team OVC heading into today's 1 p.m. game against visiting Southeast Missouri State (3-4, 1-3).

"Yeah, without question. We knew it would be tough," said Griffin, who likened his current situation to the one he confronted at Tennessee-Martin. "They are very similar, but we feel like it's a great opportunity, and we're happy to be here."

The Racers enter today's contest riding a pair of negative streaks. MSU has lost five straight games this year -- its lone victory was 59-40 at Indiana State on Sept. 16 -- and has dropped 12 consecutive OVC games.

MSU went winless in the conference last year to finish last. The Racers have not posted an OVC victory since the final game of 2004.

Griffin thought his first season with the Racers might go just a bit smoother, but various circumstances -- including injuries -- have forced him to play a slew of youngsters.

MSU is scheduled to start five true freshmen on defense today, with three more starting on offense. And that's not counting quarterback Zach Barnard, a redshirt freshman.

"I didn't think we'd play as many young kids as we have," Griffin said. "We've kind of been forced into it, but we've been pleased with a lot of them."

The Racers have been outscored 269-143 overall and 147-63 in league games -- no OVC team has that large a differential in either category -- but MSU has actually been competitive in three of its conference defeats.

MSU lost to Tennessee Tech in overtime, fell by 10 points at Tennessee State and last week held a 10-0 halftime lead at defending OVC champion Eastern Illinois before losing 20-10.

"You can see they're getting better," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said. "They had every opportunity to win that game at Eastern Illinois."

Samuel also believes the Redhawks are getting better, even though they have lost three straight to fall into seventh place in the nine-team OVC.

"I think we're making progress," he said.

On paper, it would appear Southeast should have a chance for success against the Racers, who are last in the OVC in scoring defense (33.6 points per game) and total defense (421.6 yards per game) while ranking eighth in total offense (279.9 yards per game).

But the Redhawks also lag in those categories. They are last in total offense (234.6 yards per game), eighth in total defense (382.4 yards per game) and eighth in scoring defense (28.4 points per game).

The Racers have been hurt by the loss of standout tailback Chad Cook, who is out with an injury, but Barnard has helped pick up the slack with his arm.

Barnard, a transfer from Division I-A Marshall -- where he redshirted last year -- has completed 130 of 220 passes (59.1 percent) for 1,288 yards, with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

"He looks poised back there," Samuel said.

Southeast had lost 12 straight games against Murray State until last year's 52-21 romp in Cape Girardeau. Tim Holloman rushed for 181 yards to lead the Redhawks.

The Racers still lead the all-time series 34-5-1.