Sunday papers

Here's what's in papers around the OVC following the first Saturday of the season:

The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle says Austin Peay State was able to keep up with Southeast Missouri State for the first half, with the game tied 10-10 at the break. SEMO's deeper team prevailed, however, scoring 28 second-half points to the Govs' 3. There were 5,127 fans at the game.

The Richmond (Ky.) Register says Eastern Kentucky's offense sputtered against Cincinnati, resulting in the Colonels' first shutout defeat in 79 games. Quarterback Josh Greco threw three interceptions in UC territory.

The Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader also keys in on the Colonels' offensive miscues and missed chances. The Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal does the same.

The Anniston (Ala.) Star (sorry, subscribers only), says a poorly executed short kickoff and a missed assignment by an otherwise stout defense cost Jacksonville State a victory over #5 Furman. Coach Jack Crowe focuses in on the short-kick after the Gamecocks' fourth-quarter field goal that put them up 13-10 as the game's difference-maker. He says young players on the return coverage team didn't seem to understand what they were supposed to do. In a notebook item, The Star says freshman Jeff Jones was nervous making a fill-in start on the offensive line. He was one of three new starters on the line Saturday. The paper also had a story on JSU's defense, but I don't see it online anywhere.

The Birmingham (Ala.) News says Crowe, in addition to the blown kickoff coverage, worked a now-familiar mantra into his explanation of the loss. Coaching attrition kept the Gamecocks from winning, he says; Furman's veteran staff, made largely of of former players, gave the Paladins the edge. "If we'd had the same staff as long as they have, the outcome would have been different," the News quotes him as saying.

The (Nashville) Tennessean examines another Saturday heartbreaker: Tennessee State's 27-20 loss to Alabama A&M. Two key fourth-quarter turnovers kept the Tigers from winning, the paper says. In a notebook roundup, the paper says tailback Javarris Williams didn't start Saturday, despite being named the starter on Tuesday. He came in on the Tigers' sixth offensive play of the game, behind Maurice Young.