This is what happens when there is an unfair rule in place.

Tennessee-Martin lost to Eastern Kentucky 31-28 on Saturday.

It was a thrilling game that turned on a blocked punt with less than a minute left in the game.

But with the UTM loss and TSU’s and Eastern’s wins this weekend, the three teams are tied for the lead in the Ohio Valley Conference with one loss each.

The OVC uses the loss column as the gauge to see who wins the conference.

But because some teams don’t play as many games as others, it makes no sense.

Tennessee State plays one game less than the rest of the conference every season.

This is so the Tigers can play four traditional rival games. These games are the ones that TSU makes the most money on, so the games are important for them.

The setup, however, hurts the OVC when a situation like this season’s arises.

TSU rotates their schedule so every team has a chance to be the one with a shorter schedule. This season, as luck would have it, it was UTM’s turn.

So there is now a three-way tie between two teams from Tennessee that will play one less game than the third team, Eastern Illinois.

While crying and whining about it isn’t going to change things, the truth is that this is not a fair thing.

Coaches and players will not say anything negative about the situation. It is what it is and will not be changed. Now they just have to deal with it.

Fortunately, reporters can criticize without fear of being fined.

If three teams end up tied, theoretically, the champion could be crowned off the field.

So three teams play eight conference games – scratch that.

Two teams play seven conference games and Eastern plays eight all to determine a championship by blind luck.

What was the purpose of going through the season? What was the purpose of losing players to injuries throughout the season? What was the purpose of trying out quarterbacks until they settled on Cole Stinson?

It is a rule that should be changed. Even if it means speaking with the NCAA about letting TSU have a 12-game schedule every year, much like Hawaii is allowed to, or even if it means asking Tennessee State to rotate one of its money games out every season.

Obviously, it would not be an easy thing to get accomplished.

But if fairness is something that the OVC strives for, then looking into finding a way to improve the situation would not hurt.