MURRAY HAD OFFENSIVE FIELD DAY AGAINST UTM (OVC NOTES)

It's no secret that Tennessee-Martin has the worst defense in the Ohio Valley Conference; the Skyhawks allow an average of 514 yards per game, by far the most in the league.

But the kind of damage Murray State did to the Skyhawks' defenders last weekend borders on the criminal.

The Racers piled up an astonishing 680 yards of offense -- which broke the school record of 639 set in 1967 -- during a closer-than-it sounds 47-35 win over the Skyhawks.

Quarterback Justin Fuente passed for 369 yards and five touchdowns while tailback Justin Bivins rushed for 229 yards, the fourth-best in Murray history.

Tennessee-Martin has yet to hold an opponent under 400 yards in any game this season and the 680 yards the Skyhawks allowed against Murray set their school record for defensive futility.

On the bright side for the winless Skyhawks, however, they did get their previously grounded offense going, particularly in the second half, when they gained 301 yards after falling behind 34-7 at halftime.

* As usual, Tennessee State is putting up some big offensive numbers, particularly in the passing department.

The Tigers lead the OVC in total offense (454.5 yards per game), passing offense (314 yards per game) and scoring offense (35.5 points per game).

Defensively, Tennessee Tech leads the league in three of the four major categories: rushing defense (114 yards per game), total defense (254.3 yards per game) and scoring defense (17.5 points per game).

* Fuente and Tennessee State's Leon Murray are by far the most prolific passers in the OVC so far.

Fuente has thrown for 1,449 yards in five games while Murray has passed for 1,215 yards in four games.

Eastern Kentucky's Cory Crume leads the league's rushers with an average of 98 yards per game.

Tennessee State's Tyrone Butterfield is the top receiver with 29 catches, an average of more than seven per contest.

Southeast Missouri State tailback Corey Williams leads the OVC in scoring with 13.5 points per game on nine touchdowns.

* Murray State and Eastern Illinois are both 2-0 in league play while Eastern Kentucky is 1-0. Those three teams are expected to be the prime contenders for the OVC title.

Middle Tennessee is 2-1 while Southeast Missouri is 1-2. Tennessee State has lost its only OVC game while Tennessee Tech and Tennessee-Martin are both 0-2.

* There will be several key OVC matchups Saturday, including Murray State visiting Middle Tennessee, Tennessee State traveling to Eastern Kentucky and Southeast Missouri visiting Tennessee Tech.

* Middle Tennessee coach Boots Donnelly, who has guided the Blue Raider football program for the past 20 years, announced recently that he will resign at the end of the season.

Donnelly, who has led the Raiders to four OVC titles and seven Division I-AA playoff appearances, will hand the reigns to somebody else as the school makes the move up to Division I-A football next season.

"People are probably wondering why I am stepping down at this particular point in the season, but I feel it is the best time for this program," said Donnelly.