Ohio Valley Conference

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#23 Murray State Racers at #15 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Stadium: L.T. Smith Stadium (17,500)
Location: Bowling Green, Ky.
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Series: WKU leads 34-24-7
Last Meeting: WKU 48, MUR 38 (2000)
Team Records: MUR: 7-4 overall; 5-1 in OVC
WKU: 8-3 overall; 6-1 on Gateway
Last Week: MUR 37, Eastern Illinois 35
WKU 48, Southern Illinois 16
Coaches: MUR: Joe Pannunzio (Southern Colo., ‘82)
3rd Season at MUR (17-15)
WKU: Jack Harbaugh (Bowling Green, ‘61)
14th Season at WKU (87-68)

GAME NOTES: Murray State and Western Kentucky renew their in-state rivalry after a two-year hiatus in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs. This is the first time in 66 meetings that the two teams will meet in the postseason. Both teams ride winning streaks into the playoffs. Murray State has won five straight games after getting off to a 1-3 start while the Hilltoppers have won six straight after a 2-3 start. The Racers will look to improve their fortunes on the road, where they have been 1-4 this season. This will mark the first time Western has played an OVC school since its football membership in the league ended two years ago. The winner will advance to play the winner of the Eastern Illinois-Western Illinois winner next week.

MUR OFFENSE: Quarterback Stewart Childress completed 14-of-23 passes for 169 yards and a TD in the win over Eastern Illinois last week. For the fifth consecutive game, he did not throw an interception. He has thrown 12 TD’s and only five interceptions this season... Billy Blanchard had yet another 100-yard runing game, getting 110 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries against EIU. The senior went over 1,000 yards for the year, finishing the regular season with 1,056 yards... MSU is the OVC’s top rushing team, and they rank ninth in all of I-AA with an average of 249.6 yards per game on the ground... Deandre Green is the league’s third-leading receiver, averaging 5.6 receptions and 79.8 yards per game... Junior kicker Shane Andrus booted a 52-yard field goal as time expired to beat EIU and help the Racers clinch a playoff berth last week. Andrus has made 11-of-14 field goals this season to lead the OVC. He has not missed a PAT in 66 career attempts... MSU had four offensive players make the All-OVC first team and two more earn honorable mention. Blanchard, Green, Andrus and offensive tackle Clint Parker were named to the first team, while center Josh Foster and offensive tackle Jeremy Goodman received honorable mention. Andrus was a unanimous first-team choice at placekicker.

MUR DEFENSE: Murray State forced four turnovers in last week’s key win over Eastern Illinois, despite allowing 507 yards of total offense to the Panthers… The Racers are second in the OVC in pass defense and scoring defense, but are giving up an average of 167.4 yards per game on the ground (fifth in the OVC). They face a WKU team that is fifth in the nation in rushing... Mandrell McGregory has broken up 14 passes on the season... Bobby Sanders is the team’s leading tackler, averaging 8.0 hits per game... Punter Brian Bivens leads the OVC and is 17th in the nation in net punting, averaging 41.2 yards per kick. He was a unanimous All-OVC first team selection... Sanders, McGregory and defensive back Demetrick Westbrook were all named to the All-OVC second team defensive unit.

WKU: Western Kentucky clinched a share of the Gateway Conference title last week, finishing the season with an 8-3 mark. The Hilltoppers have won their last six in a row... The Hilltoppers are 5-1 at home this season... WKU is the nation’s fifth-best rushing team, averaging 258.3 yards per game on the ground... Western has only thrown the ball 122 times this season (17 percent of their offensive plays)... Quarterback Jason Michael has thrown for 1,109 yards, five TD’s and five INT’s this year... Western is fifth in I-AA in total defense, allowing only 248.5 yards per game... The Hilltoppers had five players rush for more than 300 yards this year, led by Jon Frazier, who had 1,070... WKU is appearing in its third straight I-AA playoffs.

MUR IN PLAYOFFS: Murray State is making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs. The Racers have an all-time record of 1-4 in the I-AA Playoffs, losing first-round games in 1979, 1986 and 1995, before winning an opening-round contest against Western Illinois, 34-6, in 1996. MSU lost its quarterfinal game that year against Troy State, 31-3. The Racers’ first-round win in ’96 was the last playoff victory by a current OVC team.



#10 Eastern Illinois Panthers at #3 Western Illinois Leathernecks

Stadium: Hanson Field (12,000)
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Series: WIU leads 39-21-4
Last Meeting: WIU 41, EIU 0 (1997)
Team Records: EIU: 8-3 overall; 5-1 in OVC
WIU: 10-1 overall; 6-1 in Gateway
Last Week: Murray State 37, EIU 35
WIU 38, Southern Utah 28
Coaches: EIU: Bob Spoo (Purdue, ‘60)
16th Season at EIU (101-80-1)
WIU: Don Patterson (West Point, ‘73)
4th Season at WIU (31-13)

GAME NOTES: Cross-state rivals clash for the first time since 1997 when co-Gateway Conference champ Western Illinois hosts co-OVC champ Eastern Illinois in a I-AA first-round playoff game. WIU is 10-1 and has won six in a row going into Saturday’s game, while Eastern had won eight straight before losing at the buzzer in the final regular season game to Murray State. EIU was formerly a member of the Gateway Conference, and the two schools were fierce rivals during that time. This is EIU’s third straight trip to the I-AA playoffs, while Western last played in the postseason in 2000. The winner will face the winner of the Murray State-Western Kentucky contest.

EIU OFFENSE: EIU quarterback Tony Romo earned an unprecedented third-straight OVC Offensive Player of the Year award this week. Romo owns the EIU and OVC records for career TD passes and now has 84 scoring tosses in his career. He also holds the conference’s single-season record for TD tosses with 33 in 2002. He has thrown for 2,950 yards and 33 TD’s this season, and he is considered a front-runner for the Walter Payton Award... Senior tailback J.R. Taylor was red hot down the stretch in the regular season. He is the nation’s second-leading rusher with 1,434 yards, and he had 690 yards in his last three games alone... The Panthers had four turnovers that doomed them in the loss at Murray State... Andre Raymond is second in the nation in all-purpose yardage, averaging 192 yards per game... The Panthers have the nation’s fifth and 20th leading scorers in Taylor (10.2 ppg) and Will Bumphus (7.8 ppg)... EIU placed seven offensive players on the All-OVC first team. In addition to Romo, Taylor and Raymond, who made the team as a return specialist, tight end Nick Eller, center Scott Sholl, guard Kevin Hill and tackle Mike Bujnak all received first team honors. Making the second team were tackle Frank Castagnoli, guard Chris Rosenlund and Raymond, who made it as a receiver.

EIU DEFENSE: The Panthers are allowing 33.3 points per game in 2002, ranking them fifth in the league... The Panthers finished last in the OVC in pass defense, giving up 257.3 yards per game through the air. They will be tested by Western’s passing attack, which was tops in the Gateway this season... EIU was fifth out of seven teams in the OVC in total defense... Linebacker Nick Ricks was named OVC Defensive Player of the Year this week, and he is a candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the top defender in I-AA. Ricks leads the OVC with 140 tackles and seven forced fumbles. He is also tops in the league with 20 tackles for loss... EIU has intercepted only eight passes on the season, making them last in the OVC in that category.

WIU: Western Illinois clinched a share of the Gateway Conference title and earned the league’s automatic bid to the postseason based on its 14-0 win over co-champ Western Kentucky earlier in the year... The Leathernecks’ 10-1 overall record is the team’s best finish since 1997... WIU was the Gateway Conference’s top passing team in 2002, averaging 240.0 yards per game in the air... Quarterback Russ Michna is fifth in the nation in pass efficiency, and he was named Gateway Offensive Player of the Year this week... Western is eighth in the nation in turnover margin, registering a +14... Head coach Don Patterson earned Gateway Coach of the Year honors.

EIU IN PLAYOFFS: Eastern Illinois is making its third straight trip to the I-AA playoffs and its ninth appearance overall. EIU has lost in the first round each of the last two years, dropping a 49-43 decision to Northern Iowa last year. The Panthers are 3-8 overall in the playoffs, and last won a first-round game in 1989 against Idaho.