Published: October 11, 2008 01:57 am            

EKU not focusing on Perrilloux

RICHMOND — Ryan Perrilloux is without a doubt the most high-profile Football Championship Subdivi-sion (Division I-AA) player in the country.

And it’s easy to understand why.

He’s won a national championship. He was the MVP of the Southeastern Conference title game.

He was USA Today’s national high school player of the year.

And he was also named a five-star All-American by every major recruiting publication in the country.

Impressive, indeed.

Still, all those accolades and awards won’t mean much when Perrilloux leads 18th-ranked Jacksonville State into Roy Kidd Stadium today at 6 p.m. for an important Ohio Valley Conference game against the Colonels (3-3, 2-1 OVC).

“Hopefully, our guys aren’t looking at all that stuff,” first-year Eastern Kentucky University coach Dean Hood of Perrilloux, a transfer from LSU. “If (our players) look at the headlines and get some bulletin board-type stuff they need to let me know because I don’t read the papers. Hopefully they are taking that approach. That’s just jersey No. 11 playing quarterback and if he does A, then we need to do B.”

Perrilloux may draw the headlines, but the outcome of this match-up of preseason favorites may have a big-time affect on the race for an OVC championship.

Jacksonville State (4-1, 2-0 OVC) has won four straight and is tied at the top of league standings with Tennessee State (5-1, 2-0 OVC). Meanwhile, since dropping their OVC opener, the Colonels have won two in a row and have crawled back into contention for a second-straight conference title.

An upset of the Gamecocks would put EKU right back in the hunt and could lead to a wide-open battle for the championship and an automatic berth in the FCS Playoffs.

“Going into this game, they’ve got everything to lose and we’ve got nothing to lose,” EKU senior quarterback Allan Holland said. “We are sitting behind them. We just have to go out and play hard.”

But, it seems like this annual showdown always has a big impact on the rest of the OVC.

Since JSU joined the OVC six seasons ago, the Colonels and Gamecocks have been the two winningest programs in the league. JSU won OVC titles in 2003 and 2004 and the Colonels claimed the championship last season with an undefeated record which was highlighted by a come-from-behind win at Jacksonville State.

“It’s been a rivalry ever since they’ve come into the league,” EKU senior safety Brandon Gathof said. “They’ve been very competitive ever since they’ve come into the league. So, we are just looking forward to going out there and getting an opportunity to play.”

After some lackluster early-season play, the Colonels finally put together a breakout performance last week. They set season high in a variety of different categories on the way to an emphatic 33-12 win at Tennessee Tech.

EKU built a 30-0 lead and sparked by the play of sophomore quarterback/wide receiver Cody Watts and the return of Aaron Bradley, racked up 214 yards on the ground. Through the first five games, the Colonels had a total of just 266 total yards rushing,

“I think the (offensive) line is getting better,” Hood said. “I think the whole offense is getting a better understanding of what we are trying to do. Every little bit helps and getting Bradley back, that’s another added factor. We’ve got to just keep pounding the rock.”

Led by Perrilloux, the Gamecocks have been on a roll since a season-opening loss at Georgia Tech. They opened OVC play with an impressive win at Eastern Illinois, then blasted SEMO, 38-17, last week at home.

During that four-game winning streak, the former LSU Tiger has completed 58-of-88 passes for 786 yards and six touchdowns and has a 157.75 passer efficiency rating. Perrilloux is currently third in the OVC in total offense (216 yards a game), and is fourth in passing yards a game (184.4) and pass efficiency (139.9).

The junior has thrown for eight touchdowns and run for four more scores.

“He’s a lot like (Tennessee State’s Antonio Heffner),” Gathof said of Perrilloux. “He’s bigger, but he poses that threat of running or passing on any down. But, that’s not the strength of their offense.”

JSU senior Daniel Jackson is second in the OVC in rushing (80.8 ypg), even though he did not play last week, and senior Maurice Dupree is among the league leaders in receptions (22), receiving yards (314) and scoring (8.4 points a game).

“It’s not all him,” Hood said of Perrilloux. “They’ve got good running backs. A good offensive line. So, we’ve got more than just the quarterback to focus on.”

Holland left last week’s game with Tennessee Tech early in the second half and did not return. The senior is battling a long list of nagging injuries, but he expects to be ready to go today.

“I am going to play on Saturday,” Holland said. “That’s not a question.”

The bigger question mark surrounds Watts. The sophomore injured his ankle and knee against TTU and his status is still unknown. He did return to practice on Thursday, but went through a very light workout.

The Gamecocks hold a 3-2 advantage in the short, but interesting, series between the two schools. They have also won both meetings at Roy Kidd Stadium, including a 28-0 win two years ago.

“Even though we have had success going up there, we are playing a football team that is ambitious, has high expectations and knows how to win.” JSU coach Jack Crowe said. “So, we have to be as good as we can be this week, not unlike any other week.”

        

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