Wednesday news

Here's what's online today around the league:

Tennessee State will be rooting for the defending champions Eastern Illinois this Saturday, coach James Webster told the (Charleston, Ill.) Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. The Tigers want EIU to beat UT-Martin, to make TSU's matchup with the Panthers next week a battle of the last two unbeaten OVC teams. Of course, Big Blue has to handle Samford first.

Josh Greco could start at quarterback for Eastern Kentucky next week against Murray State, if the index finger on his throwing hand is healthy, the Richmond (Ky.) Register says (The Colonels are off this weekend). After struggling in the first half against Southeast Missouri State, Allan Holland came into the game for Greco and sparked the Colonels to a 27-21 victory.

The Anniston (Ala.) Star (soryy, subscribers only) points to one possible reason for Jacksonville State's offensive slide over the last two games: fullback Raynodd Zeine's absence. Zeine missed the Mississippi State and Tennessee State games with a foot sprain. The Star says that put more pressure on running back Clay Green and took a level of protection away from quarterback Matt Hardin. It's unclear yet if Zeine will play against Tennessee Tech this weekend.

Murray State coach Matt Griffin promises the Racers will rise to prominience again, it just won't happen overnight. He tells the Murry (Ky.) Ledger & Times, “We all know where we're going, and we're going to get there. We've got the right type of kids who've got character. We've got good young players, and we'll go recruit a bunch of good young ones in a couple of months. That's how you overcome those things." The Racers' best chance for a league win may come this week, as they take on another team in rebuilding mode, Southeast Missouri State.

The Southeast Missourian expresses a little amazement that while Eastern Illinois is in the hunt for a title, as expected, EKU and Jax State, picked to finish first and third respectively, have yielding their contenders' roles to UT-Martin and Tennessee State.

The (Cookeville, Tenn.) Herald-Citizen says Tennessee Tech Doug Malone would rather be coming off a winning week than a bye week after a loss. But either way, the Golden Eagles' next four games, including matches against Jax State and EKU, will be tough. Here's a link to the HC sports section; click on the headline from there to read the story.