Since Southeast Missouri State University's football team played powerhouse Murray State on virtually even terms last weekend, they should automatically be able to take care of struggling Tennessee-Martin, right?

No so fast, says Southeast head coach John Mumford.

Mumford warns that the Indians cannot afford to take the seemingly lowly Skyhawks lightly -- or Southeast could be walking out of Houck Stadium tonight with a loss.

The kickoff for the Ohio Valley Conference game is set for 6 p.m.

"Our kids can't think for one second that, since we played Murray State tough, we won't have a problem (with UTM)," said Mumford. "If we do that, then we'll be 1-3 in September."

And that's the last thing Mumford wants for the Indians, who arguably will be finished with the most appealing part of their schedule after tonight.

Southeast, 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the OVC, will be playing its fourth consecutive home game to start the season.

After tonight, the Indians will have only two of their final seven games at home -- and the remaining schedule is extremely rugged.

"Our goal now is to finish the homestand at 2-2 and get ready to go out on the road," Mumford said.

On the surface, the Indians would appear to have an excellent chance of drubbing the 0-2 Skyhawks, who will be opening their OVC schedule.

UTM is in a major rebuilding process under second-year coach Jim Marshall. The Skyhawks, 1-10 each of the past two seasons, were outscored 384-123 last year and got hammered at home by Southeast 42-7.

So far this season, the Skyhawks have lost to Western Kentucky 49-7 and Southern Illinois 36-7. They've allowed 880 yards -- including a whopping 706 yards on the ground -- while gaining just 439 yards. And they've forced no turnovers while turning the ball over eight times themselves.

Mumford knows all those statistics as well as anybody. And he figures his players probably do as well. The key for him is to get past those stats and convince the Indians that the Skyhawks can be dangerous.

"We better take them seriously because they will fight and play hard, and they'll play with some enthusiasm," said Mumford. "They'll be hungry for a victory and they'll have the advantage of having last week off, giving them two weeks to prepare for this game."

Mumford, who points out that the Skyhawks have lost to a pair of solid teams, said UTM has better talent than its results would indicate.

"Their record might not show it, but they have some excellent football players," he said. "They've got more quickness than in the past. I think they're considerably better than last year, but they've played two tough opponents."

UTM has compiled some decent rushing statistics, with tailback Adam Joyner gaining 155 yards and averaging 4.2 yards per attempt. Fullback Tim Beattie has averaged 4.9 yards per carry while gaining 88 yards.

At quarterback, John Repella has completed 50 percent of his passes (17 of 34) for 168 yards, but he's been intercepted six times. Brock Bailey, last year's starter who was hurt in the opener against Western Kentucky, is 5-for-14 (36 percent) for 34 yards.

"We concentrated on ourselves last week, fundamentals and correcting the mistakes of our first two games," said Marshall. "In our situation, the open date came at a good time for us."

For the second straight game, Kevin Seto will start at quarterback for Southeast after Jeff Shaw started the first two contests.

Mumford said that Seto, Shaw and Bobby Brune could very well all see action behind center, as they all did during last Saturday's 26-14 loss to Murray State.

Tailback Corey Williams, who leads Southeast with 209 yards rushing and five touchdowns, should again receive the bulk of the backfield work while fullback Britt Mirgaux continues to rehabilitate his injured knee.

Mirgaux, who sprained his knee in the season opener and has missed the last two games, won't play tonight, but he could return next week.

Dante Bryant leads Indian receivers with 15 catches, followed by Leslie Weaver with seven and Corey Chester with six.

Chester has been a major special teams threat, leading the OVC and ranking sixth nationally in kickoff returns with an average of 35.3 yards per return.

Southeast's defensive has been particularly strong, ranking third in the OVC in fewest points allowed at 21.7 per game -- and that's counting three defensive touchdowns scored by the opposition that Southeast's `D' had nothing to do with.

"I think this football team is on the verge of doing some great things," said Mumford of his squad. "I just hope people hang with us because we've got eight games left and I think we can have a very good season."

NOTE: Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan has declared today Kenneth Dement Day for the state in honor of the former Southeast Missouri standout who was recently inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Dement will be honored at halftime of today's game by representatives from the National Football Foundation as well as the College Football Hall of Fame.

Tennessee-Martin at SEMO

When: Tonight, 6 p.m.

Where: Houck Stadium

Records: SEMO 1-2, 0-1 OVC; UTM 0-2, 0-0 OVC

1997 records: SEMO 4-7; UTM 1-10

Last Week: SEMO lost to Murray St. 26-14; UTM was idle

Coaches: John Mumford (SEMO) 35-56, 9th year; Jim Marshall (UTM) 1-12, 2nd year

Series record: UTM leads 7-6

Last meeting: SEMO won 42-7 in 1997

Radio: K103-FM

Tennessee-Martin at SEMO

Probable Starters

SEMO Offense

TE - Mitch Fryer 6-2 240 Sr.

LT - Ian Walters 6-3 280 Jr.

LG - Chad King 6-3 275 Jr.

C - Chris Kiefer 6-3 270 Jr.

RG - Jessie Eaton 6-3 320 Sr.

RT - Carlos DeJesus 6-3 300 Sr.

WR - Corey Chester 5-11 175 So.

WR - Dante Bryant 6-1 190 Sr.

QB - Kevin Seto 6-4 210 Jr.

FB - Broderick Benson 5-10 215 Jr.

TB - Corey Williams 5-11 215 Sr.

PK - Nick Reggio 5-10 175 Jr.

SEMO Defense

DL - Troy Baglio 6-1 280 Sr.

DL - Marcus McClellan 6-3 250 Sr.

DL - Darren Keely 6-4 290 Jr.

DL - Brad Richardson 6-2 255 Jr.

LB - Gabe Jenkins 6-0 230 Sr.

LB - David Bowling 6-0 210 Jr.

LB - Kevin Meachem 6-2 215 Sr.

CB - Fred Hambrick 5-10 185 Sr.

CB - Brian Hinton 5-10 180 Jr.

FS - Isaac Powell 6-1 180 So.

SS - John Smith 6-1 190 Jr.

P - Justin Keen 6-5 180 Fr.

UTM Defense

DL - Rob Curtis 6-5 225 Fr.

DL - Nicholas Nordstom 6-2 245 Fr.

DL - Jake Waddell 5-10 220 So.

DL - Eddie Warren 6-3 250 Jr.

LB - Ernest Johnson 6-1 210 Sr.

LB - Terrance Lawless 6-3 235 Jr.

LB - Lavante Epson 6-2 215 Jr.

CB - Joe Daniels 5-8 170 So.

CB - J.D. McWilliams 5-9 175 So.

FS - David Barnes 5-11 185 Sr.

SS - Jonathan Brooks 6-1 210 So.

P - Jade Stilings 5-11 175 Sr.

UTM Offense

TE - Brent Hamrick 6-1 230 Sr.

LT - Jeremy Angus 6-4 260 So.

LG - Ron Tharpe 6-0 270 Sr.

C - Charlie Goodyear 6-2 265 So.

RG - Patrick Allen 5-11 310 Sr.

RT - Rodney Swearingen 6-5 295 Sr.

WR - Wesley Moore 6-2 185 Sr.

WR - Brian Webb 5-11 175 Sr.

QB - John Repella 6-3 210 So.

FB - Tim Beattie 5-9 190 So.

TB - Adam Joyner 5-10 190 Jr.

K - Eddy Winslow 5-11 170 Jr.