PANTHERS PASS RACERS IN OVC POLL

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Murray State has won the past two Ohio Valley Conference football championships, going a combined 16-0 in those seasons.

But if the league's preseason poll turns out to be accurate, then the Racers' reign will end this year.

Eastern Illinois, an NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant in 1996, has been picked by the conference's head football coaches and sports information directors to win the title this year. That announcement came here Friday during the OVC's annual media day.

The OVC is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and the Panthers have been tabbed as the preseason favorite during only their second season in the conference.

Last year, EIU made a major impact on the OVC in its inaugural season as a league member, tying for second place and going 8-4 overall. With 13 starters back, the Panthers are the favorites this year.

"The fact we've been chosen No. 1, we'll take that," said EIU coach Bob Spoo. "We've gotten our program to the point our kids think they can win. But you still have to play the games on Saturday."

The Panthers received six first-place votes and 89 points to narrowly edge out perennial I-AA power Eastern Kentucky (five first-place votes, 85 points).

Murray State, featuring a new coach in Denver Johnson, was a close third in the poll (79 points).

Picked fourth was Middle Tennessee State, followed by Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee-Martin.

Eastern Kentucky, one of I-AA's all-time great programs, failed to make the I-AA playoffs for the first time in more than a decade last year. Motivation shouldn't be a problem as Roy Kidd -- entering his 34th season as the Colonels' coach -- welcomes back 13 starters from a 6-5 team that tied for second in the OVC.

Meanwhile, Murray State will look to three-peat under the direction of Johnson, one of two new head coaches in the OVC (the other is Tennessee-Martin's Jim Marshall).

The Racers, 11-2 last season, returns 13 starters and some of the league's top skill people. But all-star quarterback Mike Cherry is gone, along with a host of defensive standouts.

"I think we have a chance to be a good football team and we also have a chance to be an average football team," said Johnson. "My problem is not replacing coach (Houston) Nutt, it's finding somebody to replace Cherry."

Middle Tennessee, another perennial OVC and I-AA power, has struggled -- at least by Blue Raider standards -- in recent years. The Raiders did close with a three-game winning streak last year to finish 6-5. They return 11 starters.

"It's unusual for us to be ranked No. 4. That hasn't been done in a long time," said veteran MTSU coach Boots Donnelly. "It's also a little bit high for us.

"We have revamped the (coaching) staff and revamped the football team. We've got a lot of no-name players."

The teams picked to round out the bottom four of the league went a combined 13-31 last year. But as the case with every new season, optimism is abundant in virtually every corner. Tennessee State coach L.C. Cole pretty much summed up the thoughts of most coaches at this time of the year with his comments.

"Last year we had our ups and downs. Our goal was to win more games than the previous year. We did that. We won two more games," said Cole, in his second season with the Tigers. "But this year our goal is to compete for the OVC title. I really feel that way about our team."