Coming back down to earth will be Southeast Missouri State University's big challenge in practice this week as the Indians prepare for the start of Ohio Valley Conference play.

Southeast coach Tim Billings knows his team is still riding high after Saturday's stunning 24-14 win at Middle Tennessee State, which marked the program's first victory over a Division I-A opponent.

But the Indians (3-2) now must prepare for a game that Billings said is even more important -- Saturday's OVC opener against Tennessee State (1-4) at Houck Stadium.

"It was a great win and we're excited about it, but we have to get our feet back on the ground and get ready for the OVC," Billings said in his weekly media conference Monday. "I told everybody, we're starting OVC this week. We can't sit around having people tell us how good we are.

"That game was great for history, but this game is more important. That game, you ask yourself, was it a once in a lifetime thing, or have we turned the corner?"

Billings, in his third year of trying to rebuild a program that has not had a winning season since 1994 and has not won more than four games in a season since 1995, believes it's possible that the Indians just might have turned the corner. Now he's anxious to find out.

"I think we took a giant leap forward. Now I'm anxious to see if we really did," he said. "I told the guys at halftime (at Middle Tennessee), they've raised the bar. Now let's see if we can keep it up there."

Holding a 10-7 halftime lead over the Raiders, the Indians fell behind 14-10 after three quarters but scored the game's final 14 points to pull off the upset. Southeast wound up with a commanding 407 to 284 edge in total yards.

"That's the first game in a long time we played well on offense and defense for four quarters," Billings said. "Things are never as good as you think they are. There are things we could have done better. But overall, we played a good, solid game."

Southeast All-American wide receiver Willie Ponder, who leads the OVC in every receiving category, said the Indians know they must get over that victory in a hurry.

"We don't want to have that be our only real big win of the year," Ponder said. "I know we shocked everybody, but we believed in ourselves and we believe we can win the OVC."

Ponder said beating Middle Tennessee should perk things up in practice this week, especially since the mood was somewhat somber last week following a disappointing loss at Southwest Missouri.

"This should really get us fired up to practice good and get ready for Tennessee State," Ponder said.

Injury situation improves

Billings believes the Indians will be as healthy for the Tennessee State game as they have been all season.

Cornerback Dimitri Patterson (hamstring) and safety Chaun Tate (shoulder), who did not play Saturday, should be back this week. Defensive end Adam Jones (knee) played some Saturday and should be ready for even more action. Linebacker Michael Irving (knee) did not play Saturday but could be ready this week.

"This should be the healthiest we've been," Billings said. "Our defense has been pretty banged up, but we've had guys step in and do a good job and we should have most of the guys back this week."

Motley helps out

The Indians got a boost against Middle Tennessee by the return of defensive tackle Jermaine Motley, who was granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA and was seeing his first action of the season.

Motley not only had two tackles for loss but helped keep starting tackles James Jennette and Caleb Daniel fresh.

"Jermaine played well, and he helped James and Caleb play better," Billings said. "He helped those guys stay rested more because we rotated all three in."Noteworthy

***Ponder, who has 37 receptions for 565 yards after catching 70 passes for 1,090 yards last year, will be added this week to the list of 14 players deemed the best in I-AA football, thus making him a candidate for the Walter Payton Award that goes to the top offensive player in I-AA.

"It's a big honor for Willie, and he really deserves it," Billings said.

***The Sports Network I-AA poll released Monday had Southeast receiving the most votes of any team not in the top 25, meaning the Indians are unofficially rated 26th this week. A win over Tennessee State could vault the Tribe into the rankings.

"I'd like to have a lot of votes at the end of the year, not now," Billings said. "But it is nice for the program to be recognized. It's been a long time around here."