It’s been a long time.

When the No. 14 Panthers play No. 12 Tennessee-Martin on Saturday, it will be the first time two nationally ranked Ohio Valley Conference teams have played since Oct. 12, 2002.

In that game between the No. 9 ranked Panthers and No. 19 Eastern Kentucky, the Tony Romo-led offense took control of the ball with 43 seconds left in the game.

Romo ran the ball into the end zone as time expired and the Panthers beat the Colonels 25-24.

The Panthers are expecting a game just as good this weekend.

“It’s going to be a dogfight,” said wide receiver Ryan Voss. “They’re a great team.”

The match-up will be one between two similar teams.

Both teams are ranked in the Top 15 nationally in rushing offense.

The Panthers (5-3, 4-0 OVC) are led by senior running back Vincent Webb Jr., who leads the conference with 131 yards per game, and sophomore Norris Smith.

The Skyhawks (6-1, 3-0) have a little Thunder and Lightning of their own.

Junior Donald Chapman is third in the conference with 101 yards per game while Marcus Dawson has run for 61 yards per game.

“Chapman’s one of the better guys we’ve seen all year on any team,” said Panthers defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni. “They got a nice little stable. (Dawson) runs really hard, he’s a bull. He’s not gonna try to make you miss like Chapman. He’s going to try to run you over.”

Martin head coach Jason Simpson knows the teams have similar philosophies.

“It’s no secret both teams want to run the football,” he said. “Both teams do a great job of being physical. It comes down to who can execute the best.”

Not only do the running games resemble each other, Martin’s defense this year resembles the Panthers’ defense.

Although Eastern isn’t as high statistically, they have played two Division I-A teams, including Hawaii’s top-ranked offense.

But UTM is ranked in the top five nationally in four categories, including scoring defense.

The two teams and Tennessee State are the only remaining undefeated teams in the OVC.

Panthers head coach Mark Hutson said while all conference games are big, the game with Martin will allow the winner to remain in control of their own fate as far as the postseason goes.

“We would like as a team to be able to control our own destiny,” he said. “The importance of staying in the driver’s seat, so to speak, is great this week for both teams.”

If the Panthers win this week, they would move on to next week’s game against Tennessee State, making it a possibility that they would face two undefeated teams in back-to-back weeks.

But quarterback Cole Stinson said the team doesn’t put any added emphasis on any of the games.

“If we would have taken any other games lightly,” he said, “we would have lost and this game would not be as important.”

One thing the Panthers can look back on is a gut-wrenching loss the last time they visited Tennessee-Martin.

In that game, the Skyhawks scored 26 points in the fourth quarter, including two interception returns for touchdowns in the last four minutes and beat the Panthers 32-14.

“I can’t remember what hotel we stayed at,” Bellantoni said. “All I remember is us turning the ball over seven times and two interceptions being returned for touchdowns and being very, very frustrated in a driving rain storm. That’s all I remember.”

Acting head coach Mark Hutson discusses the game plan with junior quarter back Cole Stinson during the homecomming game last Saturday at O’Brien stadium. Jay Grabiec/The Daily Eastern News

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