Wednesday, October 17, 2007 11:06 PM CDT
UT-Martin's 1-6 mark no joke to EIU
BY BRIAN NIELSEN Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
Before his you’ve-heard-this-all-before cliché, a hesitant Bob Spoo seemed ready for someone to laugh.
Eastern Illinois’ football coach called Tennessee-Martin the best 1-6 team in the country.
OK, check all the standings.
Among the 116 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision teams, you only have two of them.
Four FCS teams are 0-7, including EIU’s September victim Indiana State. Five others are 0-6, one is 0-5 and five are 1-5.
Because Tennessee-Martin does not have Eastern Kentucky on this year’s Ohio Valley Conference schedule, we cannot make direct comparisons with Western Carolina, which lost a 45-21 game to Eastern Kentucky, to declare who is the best 1-6 FCS team in the country.
But I would second Spoo’s motion and considering a coach has better things to do than search standings for 1-6 teams, he probably does not even realize that’s a club of only two.
He is not just trying to glorify the Homecoming opponent for Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. game at O’Brien Stadium.
Spoo did point out that UT-Martin lost three straight OVC games by three points each before beating Samford 31-21 last week in a game that was not really that close.
Eastern offensive coordinator Jorge Munoz did know that counting only OVC games, UT-Martin leads the league in scoring defense allowing only 19.0 points per game.
Eastern special teams coach Justin Lustig did know that in a formula coaches use to rate special teams, the Skyhawks rank second.
Beyond all those numbers, Eastern not only remembers many of the same UT-Martin players who beat the Panthers 15-9 in last year’s clash of OVC co-champions but the talent shown by this year’s Skyhawks who suffered through a hard-luck start to a season in which they began a top 25 FCS nationally ranked team.
“I don’t know how they’re 1-6,” EIU defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni said. “You turn on the film and you’d think they’re one of the top teams in the nation.”
And Bellantoni wasn’t just talking about the 1-6 subset.
He sees that UT-Martin still has running back Don Chapman, who shared last year’s OVC Co-Offensive Player of the Year award with Eastern’s graduated Vincent Webb.
That Chapman, who needs to averaged 110 yards over his last four games to join a list of 12 NCAA Division I players who have had rushed for 1,000 yards in four straight seasons, is not having the year he did last year is partly because of UT-Martin’s disappointing year but also because the Skyhawks have other weapons now.
Quarterback Dexter Anoka, while ranking fifth in OVC passing efficiency, has done his share running the ball for 148 yards to rank second among the Skyhawks behind Chapman.
“Anytime an opposing quarterback is a big part of their offense and able to run the ball as well, he is a problem for your defense,” Spoo said.
But maybe the most remarkable Skyhawk trying to derail Eastern’s bid for a third straight FCS playoff berth could be do-everything Jessie Burton.
Nicknamed “Juice,” the 2006 Sport Network Division I-AA All-American is UT-Martin’s fourth leading receiver with three touchdowns while averaging 28.6 yards in his 12 catches, has 13 tackles and three pass breakups as a cornerback, ranks third in the OVC averaging 9.1 yards on 13 punt returns and is fifth in the conference averaging 24.6 yards on 25 kickoff returns including a 90-yard touchdown.
Lusitg noted that Burton is also a key member of UT-Martin’s kickoff coverage team.
“I tell some of my guys ‘you say you’re tired and he doesn’t ever come off the field,’ ” said Bellantoni, who might be mistaken but not by much.
UT-Martin coach Jason Simpson said of Burton: “It makes it tough on him to spread him that thin. We’ve used him offensively a little bit more. He’ll continue to be used offensively.”
That makes Burton a unique player on what most likely is the best 1-6 team in the country.
Who knows where Eastern ranks among 4-3 teams.
The Panthers have enough to worry about just not being the second best team at O’Brien Stadium on Saturday.
Brian Nielsen is sports editor of the Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. Contact Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
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