Tuesday news

Here's what's up today:

Jacksonville State still has two games left on its schedule, but the team already is thinking about next year, according to The Anniston (Ala.) Star (sorry, subscribers only). Despite being out of contention for an OVC title, this year's senior class can become the winningest in JSU's Division I history with a win over Samford Saturday.

The Gadsden (Ala.) Times ntoes that the JSU-Samford game is becoming something of a rivalry. "I told our players it is highly unlikely that somewhere in the future they will run into someone and talk about playing Eastern Illinois; but it is pretty likely that the times they played against Samford will be something that they will hear about in later years," JSU coach Jack Crowe told the paper.

The Birmingham (Ala.) News also plays up the Gamecocks-Bulldogs rivalry. (As a Jax State fan, I'll say that I certainly want to see Samford lose, but I stop short of calling this a "fierce rivalry." They're not Troy, after all.)

The Southeast Missourian says SEMO coach Tony Samuel was pleased with his defenses' performance Saturday, despite the 28-14 loss to UT-Martin. "We gave up the big run near the end and a couple of third-down conversions ... but it was a great effort by the defense," Samuel tells the paper.

Tennessee State quarterback Antonio Heffner may miss another game, with his shoulder slow to heal, according to The (Nashville) Tennessean.

Also, Martin's Jessie Burton, who returns kicks for the Skyhawks, has been named national special teams player of the week by The Sports Network.