You made a difference if you were at Houck Stadium on Saturday when we finally got in the win column with a 30-17 victory over Eastern Illinois.

I am excited about the homecoming crowd that turned out for the game. We were 0-5, and I really didn't know what to expect.

But on a beautiful day, with national and local television coverage, we still had a large and enthusiastic crowd that made a difference in the game. Our optimism and hope are back. We needed something good to happen, and the crowd helped us make it happen. The players and I appreciate the fact that our fans have hung with us.

We've continued to improve as a football team, and we finally tasted victory. This week we don't have a game, but I don't consider it an off week. This is an "us" week where our players can work on the things they need to be better players and we can work on things that will make us a better team.

On offense, we will work on scoring from inside the 25-yard line. On defense, we will work to improve our pass rush and do a better job on third-down situations.

We will really work hard on improving our special teams play. On Saturday our special teams were solid, but at Samford we really got hurt on special teams. The Ohio Valley Conference race is going to be a real scramble, and special teams play could be the difference in a lot of close games. We have to get better, and we will.

With our victory Saturday we went from the OVC outhouse to the penthouse, just one-half game out of first place. Tennessee State is 1-0 but then there are seven teams with 1-1 records and Eastern Illinois is 0-1.

With the addition of two quality teams in Samford and Jacksonville State, I really think a team can win the league this year with two losses because all of the teams seem to be about the same. The winning team will have to stay healthy and get wins on the road. So far, only the home teams have won in the OVC.

We have players good enough to win the league title, and our destiny is now back in our own hands. If we win out, we will win the OVC championship.

This week we are going through our regular practice sessions, but we will give the players Friday and Saturday off. We will have a team meeting Sunday night and get ready to start preparations for Eastern Kentucky on Monday.

Congratulations to Ricky Farmer for being the OVC Defensive Player of the Week and to Derek Kutz for being the Specialist of the Week.

Ricky played his usual stellar game on defense and came up with a big fumble recovery while forcing two fumbles. He is an excellent football player I started watching when he attended the Marshall football camps while he was in high school.

Derek had a great day kicking the ball. He had three field goals and three conversions for 12 points. He also had deep kickoffs that helped field position.

Saturday was a great homecoming win, and fate is back in our hands. We are continuing to get better each week, and that trend has to continue both this week and next week as we prepare for Eastern Kentucky, whom we visit on Oct. 18.

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