RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University football team closes the road portion of its 1999 schedule with a 1:00 p.m. CST kickoff Saturday at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, TN.

The matchup could be for a tie for second place in the conference standings should Tennessee State defeat Murray State and give the Racers a second league loss. EKU goes into the game 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the OVC, while Tech is 5-3 on the season and 4-2 in the conference.

"This is going to be another tough football game Saturday," said EKU head coach Roy Kidd. "I've said all along that Tech has the best defense in the conference, so we've got to a much better job on offense than we've done the past two weeks."

EKU lost its second straight game on the road as the Murray State Racers piled up 561 yards in defeating the Colonels, 45-30, last Saturday. EKU played without starting quarterback Waylon Chapman who was out with a slightly separated shoulder and lost backup quarterback Chad Collins to a bruised shoulder late in the third quarter of the MSU game.

This forced sophomore transfer Gary Gumm into action and he responded with 11 completions in 16 pass attempts for 118 yards and two touchdowns.

"I really liked the way both quarterbacks played. Chad had some passes dropped on him. Gary looked great though, considering he had only played in one game this year. He has a nice touch on the ball and has a very catchable pass," Kidd said.

EKU fell behind early, 21-7, and trailed, 35-14 at the break. Just like a week prior when Eastern rallied from a 19-3 deficit against Tennessee State to take a short-lived 22-19 lead, the Colonels came back to within 35-30 in the Murray State game, but could not take the lead.

"You can't fall behind like we've been doing against a good team and expect to come back and win. We've got to do a better job early in the game," Kidd said.

Sophomore wide receiver Nick Towns also had his best outing as a Colonel, catching eight passes for 89 yards. Junior Alex Bannister had six receptions for 79 yards and a score, while Matt Sharp had three catches for 37 yards, Tyrone Browning had three catches for 28 yards and a touchdown and Anthony Boggs had two receptions for 25 yards and a TD.

Collins finished the day 13-24 for 165 yards and one TD, as Eastern QB's went 24-40 for 283 yards and three touchdowns with just one interception against Murray State.

Following this week's game at Tennessee Tech, Eastern concludes its regular season with a 2:00 p.m. contest Nov. 20 at Roy Kidd Stadium against Eastern Illinois University. Tickets for this game may be purchased by visiting the EKU Athletics Ticket Office in Room 126 of Alumni Coliseum or by phoning the ticket office at (606) 622-2122 or 1-800-262-7493, inside Kentucky.