Last but not least

Couldn't wait until tomrrow and it was pretty easy to find.

Murray State is the first opponent of the season for the Missouri Tigers on Sept. 2, according to the 2006 schedule at Mizzou's Web site. No confirmation yet at the Murray Site.

That buttons up the 2006 I-A games for OVC teams. Everybody's playing one, and the defending champs EIU play two. That seems appropriate.

The full OVC vs. I-A schedule, for those of you keeping track of such things:

Sept. 2 - EKU @ Cincinnati, UT-Martin @ Ohio, EIU @ Illinois, Murray State @ Missouri
Sept. 9 - Samford @ Georgia Tech
Sept. 16 - Tennessee Tech @ Middle Tennessee
Sept. 23 - Tennessee State @ Vanderbilt
Sept. 30 - EIU @ Hawai'i
Oct. 14 - Jax State @ Mississippi State, SEMO @ Arkansas

Three SEC teams, a Big Ten. a Big 12, an ACC, a Big East, a WAC, a MAC and Sun Belt. Five consecutive weeks of "playing up" to start the season, against teams who were a combined 44-67 in 2005. It's starting to look like the OVC is playing the soft underbelly of the I-A ranks this year, but of course anytime you're taking 63 scholarships up against 85 you're at a disadvantage. All in all, I like the OVC's chances here. It'll be good experience, good exposure and a few good shots at upsets.