OVC in spotlight with No. 2 EIU, No. 21 Tennessee State

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Offense versus defense. Defense versus offense. If it sounds like the perfect story line for a college football game, it should be when Eastern Illinois visits Tennessee State in the Ohio Valley Conference matchup of the season on Saturday. The showdown will be one of five conference matchups pitting ranked FCS teams against each other this weekend. On Monday, Eastern Illinois (6-1, 3-0 OVC) moved up one spot to No. 2 in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 - the Panthers' highest ranking since they were in the same position in the Nov. 18, 2002 poll, back when quarterback Tony Romo was at the controls of the offense. Tennessee State (7-1, 4-0) rose three spots to No. 21. The only team ahead of EIU was North Dakota State, the two-time defending FCS champion, which gained all 156 first-place votes and 3,900 points in the poll. The Bison have a 7-0 record and are tied with Youngstown State atop the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings. Eastern Illinois and Tennessee State are the only unbeaten teams in OVC play, but they have done so in different fashion. EIU, behind senior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who has thrown for an FCS-high 2,735 yards and 31 touchdowns, leads the FCS in both scoring offense (48 points per game) and total offense (595.6 yards per game). Tennessee State ranks second nationally in both scoring defense (13.5) and total defense (264.0). The Tigers have forced 21 turnovers, with Daniel Fitzpatrick and David Van Dyke among the national leaders in interceptions. The visiting Panthers hold a slim 8-7 lead in the series. The two teams didn't play each other last season, with TSU winning the most recent matchup in 2011, 18-17 at Eastern Illinois. Eastern Washington (5-2) moved up one spot to No. 3, but the biggest move within the Top 10 was made by McNeese State (6-1) following its Southland Conference win over then-No. 2 Sam Houston State this past Saturday. The Cowboys moved up five spots to No. 4. The rest of the Top 10 was No. 5 Montana State (5-2), No. 6 Coastal Carolina (7-0), No. 7 Sam Houston State (5-2), No. 8 Towson (7-1), No. 9 Fordham (8-0) and No. 10 Montana (6-1). The next 10 were No. 11 Maine (6-1), No. 12 Wofford (5-2), No. 13 Youngstown State (7-1), No. 14 Bethune-Cookman (6-1), No. 15 Lehigh (6-1), No. 16 Northern Arizona (5-2), No. 17 Northern Iowa (4-3), No. 18 Villanova (4-3), No. 19 James Madison (5-2) and No. 20 New Hampshire (3-3), which, like McNeese State, moved up a poll-high five spots. The Wildcats edged Villanova, 29-28, in doing so. Rounding out the Top 25 were Tennessee State, No. 22 Samford (5-2), No. 23 Central Arkansas (4-3), No. 24 Georgia Southern (4-2) and No. 25 South Dakota State (4-4). In addition to Eastern Illinois-Tennessee State, the other matchups of ranked games this week are Eastern Washington-Montana, Maine-Villanova, Samford- Wofford and Northern Iowa-South Dakota State. A panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries selects the national poll. In the Top 25 voting, a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote. During the regular season, the Top 25 will be released every Monday afternoon, except for the final weekend, when it will be released Sunday morning, Nov. 24, prior to the selection of the FCS playoff field. The final Top 25 will be released on the Monday after the FCS championship game Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.

Team (First-place votes)		2013 Record	Points	Previous Rank
1.	North Dakota State Bison (156)	7-0	3900	1
2.	Eastern Illinois Panthers	6-1	3620	3
3.	Eastern Washington Eagles	5-2	3397	4
4.	McNeese State Cowboys	6-1	3160	9
5.	Montana State Bobcats	5-2	3116	5
6.	Coastal Carolina Chanticleers	7-0	2977	6
7.	Sam Houston State Bearkats	5-2	2880	2
8.	Towson Tigers	7-1	2870	7
9.	Fordham Rams	8-0	2836	8
10.	Montana Grizzlies	6-1	2544	10
11.	Maine Black Bears	6-1	2120	14
12.	Wofford Terriers	5-2	1968	13
13.	Youngstown State Penguins	7-1	1920	16
14.	Bethune-Cookman Wildcats	6-1	1635	17
15.	Lehigh Mountain Hawks	6-1	1567	18
16.	Northern Arizona Lumberjacks	5-2	1339	19
17.	Northern Iowa Panthers	4-3	1237	11
18.	Villanova Wildcats	4-3	1218	12
19.	James Madison Dukes	5-2	993	20
20.	New Hampshire Wildcats	3-3	824	25
21.	Tennessee State Tigers	7-1	818	24
22.	Samford Bulldogs	5-2	807	22
23.	Central Arkansas Bears	4-3	637	21
24.	Georgia Southern Eagles	4-2	557	23
25.	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	4-4	412	15
Others receiving votes: Delaware 270, Charleston Southern 226, Southeastern Louisiana 183, Harvard 180, South Carolina State 134, Southern Illinois 76, Jacksonville State 60, William & Mary 42, Chattanooga 35, South Dakota 34, Southern Utah 16, Gardner-Webb 15, Jackson State 15, UT Martin 13, Cal Poly 13, Princeton 10, Stony Brook 5, Alcorn State 5, Sacred Heart 4, Illinois State 4, Sacramento State 3, Butler 3, Duquesne 2. ...