Saturday gameday news

There's a lot of football going on around the OVC today. Everybody's in action, which won't happen again until Nov. 4. There are three league games and three non-conference contests, one of them a I-A game. Here's the lineup (all times Central):

• Tennessee State at Florida A&M, Atlanta, Ga. (Atlanta Football Classic), 2 p.m. Fox Sports South
• Jacksonville State at Eastern Kentucky, Richmond, Ky., 2 p.m., OVCSports.tv
  
• Tennessee Tech at Murray State, Murray, Ky., 6 p.m., OVCSports.tv
• Samford at Southeast Missouri State, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 6 p.m., OVCSports.tv
• UT-Martin at Austin Peay State, Clarksville, Tenn., 6 p.m., OVCSports.tv
• Eastern Illinois at Hawai'i, Honolulu, 11 p.m.

And here's what's in the papers this morning:

Everybody's got somebody they love to hate when it comes to football. Will that kind of mutual loathing develop between UT-Martin and Austin Peay State? The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle says the Govs think this series could develop into a healthy rivalry. The schools are 86 miles apart. UT-Martin probably enjoys seeing this game on their schedule. APSU is one of the few teams over which the Skyhawks hold a series lead, 28-24-2 (sorry for that, Martin fans).

The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun says UT-Martin coach Jason Simpson isn't worried about breaking into the I-AA top 25. The Skyhawks are just outside the official poll, in the "others receiving votes" category. It would, however, be a big step for the program to be ranked. Simpson, though, knows an even bigger step would be winning the conference title, and to do that he must keep his team focused on winning the next game.

The (Charleston, Ill.) Jornal Gazette/Times-Courier says Eastern Illinois' visit to Hawai'i gives the Panthers a chance to shine on an NFL stage (Aloha Stadium hosts the Pro Bowl) and gives the EIU coaches a chance to measure up against an NFL-caliber staff (with June Jones and Jerry Glanville holding clipboards for the Warriors). One interestin g pre-game stat: Hawai'i is third in I-A in fumbles lost; EIU is first in I-AA in opponents' fumbles rcovered.

The Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader previews the EKU-JSU game, noting that both teams are trying to figure out what's gone wrong lately. Colonels coach Danny Hope would like to beat the Gamecocks, and then see them win the rest of the season.

The Birmingham (Ala.) News says JSU is hoping for about the same thing, and notes that this is familiar territory for the team. In 2003 and 2004 JSU lost one OVC game each year on its way to conference titles, spending much of the season winning and watching league results with an anxious eye.

In another story, The News says Samford coach Bill Gray is concerned about SEMO's improving ground game. " "You can see them transforming into more of a two-back power team on offense," Gray tells the paper. "You can see them making progress in what they are trying to do."

The Murray (Ky.) Ledger & Times notes that the home team has won the Tennessee Tech-Murray State matchup each of the last five seasons. That's gotta make Racers coach Matt Griffin a little more comfortable, but Tech's upset of EKU last week might balance that optimism out.

The (Cookeville, Tenn.) Herald-Citizen says the TTU-MSU matchup pits two new OVC coaches agaisnt eachother ... sort of. Griffin's in his first year at Murray after three season at UT-Martin. Tech coach Doug Malone was the Golden Eagles' offensive coordinator before taking over as "interim" head coach for Mike Hennigan, who's on a medical leave of absence. Here's a link to the HC sports section.

The Southeast Missourian says both SEMO and Samford probably need to win today's game to have any hope of contending for the OVC title. Redhawks coach Tony Samuel is convinced his team is better than the 38-7 showing it made at Jax State back in Week 2. After a few complaints online, SEMO officials say there are no changes to the school's official tailgating policies, though student tailgating has been moved to another area. The schools' policies on free beer and food remain the same. Did I just type "free beer?" I think my travel scedule for next season just got an update.

The (Nashville) Tennessean says Tennessee State is under more pressure in each new game, a trend that continues today at the Georgia Dome, where they'll face Florida A&M in the Atlanta Football Classic. A crowd of 59,297 watched TSU lose 12-7 last year, with what could have been a late touchdown pass going incomplete instead.