Despite being in a tie for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference and in position to win its first conference championship since 2009, Eastern’s football team continues to sit outside the top 25 rankings. Although the Panthers are not among the teams in the top 25 they are one of the first teams receiving votes.

Top 25 Polls

The Panthers currently rank as the No. 27 team in the nation in the Sports Network FCS Top 25 poll, and are the No. 29 team in the nation in the FCS Coaches poll.

The No. 27 ranking is the highest the Panthers have been ranked this season, and with a win over Southeast Missouri on Saturday the Panthers would move into the top 25 for the first time since this season.

Several other OVC schools are receiving national recognition as Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee-Martin and Tennessee State each rank inside the Sports Network Top 25.

Eastern Kentucky paces all OVC schools, ranking as the No. 22 team in the nation. Tennessee-Martin and Tennessee State rank immediately behind the Colonels, holding the No. 22 and No. 23 rankings, respectively.

In the “other teams receiving votes” category, Eastern leads all OVC schools while Jacksonville State is also receiving votes.

In the FCS Coaches poll, Eastern Kentucky again leads all OVC schools, holding the No. 18 ranking in the nation.

Tennessee-Martin joins Eastern Kentucky as the other OVC school to be ranked inside the FCS Coaches poll as it ranks at No. 24.

Tennessee State and Eastern are among the top four teams receiving votes in the FCS Coaches poll, holding the first and fourth spot, respectively.

At the top of the polls, both the Sports Network poll and the FCS Coaches poll has North Dakota State, Montana State, Sam Houston State and Old Dominion as their top four teams.

The lone difference in the top five is Eastern Washington ranking at No. 5 in the Sports Network poll, while an undefeated Lehigh team holds the No. 5 ranking in the FCS Coaches poll. Lehigh is the lone undefeated team remaining in the FCS.

Weekly Awards

Tennessee-Martin quarterback Derek Carr was named the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

Carr became the lone quarterback in Division I to throw for seven touchdowns in two different games this season.

Carr first accomplished the feat against Murray State before accomplishing the feat against Jacksonville State this past Saturday. Against the Gamecocks, Carr threw for 402 yards, seven touchdowns and zero interceptions. Five of Carr’s seven touchdown tosses went to wide receiver Quentin Simms as he set an OVC record for touchdown catches in a single game.

Eastern Kentucky defensive back Brooklyn Fox garnered Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in the Colonels win over Southeast Missouri. Fox totaled four tackles, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble. Fox’s .6 interception-per-game average ranks fourth nationally.

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at 581-2812 or jbpottorff@eiu.edu.