Wednesday news

Here's what's up today:

The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle says Austin Peay State's open week comes at a good time for the banged-up, 1-4 Governors. In the school's first year of offering football scholarships since 1996, McCray says the team has good chemsitry and attitude, but that the Govs need to learn to finish games.

The (Charleston, Ill.) Journal Gazette/Times-Courier marvels, along with Tennessee Tech Coach Doug Malone, that the Tech-UT-Martin matchup tomorrow night is the OVC's marquee offering.

The Richmond (Ky.) Register says one of Tech's recent victims, Eastern Kentucky, still is trying to gigure out how to fix its offense. Coach Danny Hope says a little inconsistency at each position has added up to an inconsistent offense.

The Anniston (Ala.) Star (sorry, subscribers only) says Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe is pleased with his team's improveed pass defense. The Gamecocks two years ago finished ranked 119th in I-AA in pass defense (is that dead-last?). Now they're ranked second in the country, allowing 91.3 yards per game through the air.

The Murray (Ky.) Ledger & Times says Murray State starting running back Chad Cook will miss tomorrow's game at Jacksonville State. Griffin says there are players on the RAcers' roster who can run as well as Cook, but that improved play from the offensive line will be needed if anyone is to gain much in the way of yardage. The Racers had just 59 rushing yards in an overtime loss to Tennessee Tech last week.

The Southeast Missourian says Southeast Missouri State Coach Tony Samuel would gladly give up the five votes his team received in the most recent Sports Network I-AA poll (they got five) for a victory over #20 Eastern Illinois this week. The paper also reports on EKU's struggles, and JSU's turnaround game against the Colonels last week.

The (Nashville) Tennessean says Tennessee State, like APSU, welcomes its off-week. For the Tigers, it means a chance to recover from a heartbreaking overtime loss to Florida A&M last week. They'll have extra time to get ready for a TTU team that currently is leading the league.