The ride home from Charleston, Ill., Saturday was about three-and-a-half hours. It seemed like 100 hours.

Football is, and always has been, a test. A test of young men's character, will and heart. Even though the roller-coaster 35-33 loss to Eastern Illinois, our players must realize that their character, will and heart stand tall and will lead to future success.

I have never had the privilege to participate in such a comeback and witness a group of young men pull together so tightly. One thing about our players, they will fight with pride.

We came out to start the game and seemed tentative, flat or both. Eastern Illinois is a good team. However, so are we. We took the field not expecting victory. There is no doubt that we thought we would win. The thought didn't materialize to expectation until the second half.

If we expect to win, then we are obligated to each other to prepare and play to the best we are capable. The thought of winning is easy and has no strings attached until there is true belief and sacrifice that creates the expectation.

I believe that there is not a team remaining on our schedule that we cannot defeat. Some may be stronger than others for various reasons, but again, not undefeatable.

The game Saturday should not have come down to a 52-yard field-goal attempt. We had several opportunities with field position. We simply cannot spot anybody 14 points in two minutes following miscues. Again, close games will always boil down to a few key plays.

Our offensive line played well, not allowing a sack. We racked up well over 400 yards of offense for the second straight week. Bobby Brune came in and played a very poised and confident game, both running and throwing. K.D. Koleosho and Riki Smith both ran effectively. Leslie Weaver, Corey Chester and Mitch Fryer all had big catches.

Defensively, Troy Baglio, Kevin Meachem and Isaac Powell all had good games. Our defense adjusted very well in the game and held Eastern to six second-half points. Nick Reggio kicked the ball well and was very close on the last attempt.

We must take the lessons learned from this game and the positive plays to a tough Tennessee Tech team this Saturday afternoon.

Tech's games have all been very close and well contested. They are an excellent defensive football team and they run a very multiple offense. They have held everybody down in scoring and their defensive front is one of the best in the OVC.

We have had two straight games of more than 400 yards on offense, so something will have to give. Hopefully we will come out awake at the kickoff and play a complete game. It's simply too hard to spot a good team early points and still come back to win.

Our players will have a great week of preparation. Preparation, coupled with their heart, will lead to a great performance and the expected victory.

John Mumford is the head football coach at Southeast Missouri State University