After the football team’s 52-49 win over Tennessee State this weekend, what’s more exciting than a road trip to face off against a 1-7 Tennessee-Martin?

One might say that no game throughout this entire season will be as exciting as the Panthers’ recent triumph over the Tigers, but Thursday’s game against the Skyhawks could possibly top that by handing the Panthers their first Ohio Valley Conference title in school history.

Thursday will be a battle of opposites on the football field. While Tennessee-Martin is in the midst of a five-game losing streak, Eastern sits ranked No. 6 in the nation with a 6-1 overall record and a perfect 4-0 in the OVC.

So why shouldn’t the Panthers pack the champagne on the bus to Martin, Tenn.?

Maybe because Tennessee-Martin hasn’t won an OVC battle in five years, and Thursday might just be their night. They have to win sometime, right?

Can junior quarterback Tony Romo really compare to last week’s combined performance of Skyhawk quarterbacks Robert Hines and Shane Williams, who finished last weekend’s game against Samford completing 2-of-11 passes?

Romo only threw for 381 yards.

Running back Jeremy Hines rushed for 86 yards on six attempts this past weekend – certainly no match to Eastern running back Andre Raymond, who rushed for 113 yards on 11 carries.

And then Tennessee-Martin comes through with wide receiver William Stevenson, who led the Skyhawks with 34 receiving yards on two catches. Panther senior receiver Frank Cutolo might want to take notes from Stevenson after his mere 239 receiving yards on eight catches.

That was only good enough to set a school record.

If the Skyhawks are successful in intimidating the Panthers, Eastern will have to rely on the home game against Murray State (3-4, 1-2 in OVC) in two weeks to seal its conference championship.