HOT POTATO—SLU QB Brian Babin (10) pitches on the option to RB Jay Lucas (20) during Saturday’s game against Texas State. Babin had two TD passes and Lucas rushed for 100 yards but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 38-24 loss to the Bobcats. The Lions go on the road Saturday to play at Sam Houston State. Photo by John Lenz

Sam Houston State head coach Todd Whitten can definitely relate to what Southeastern counterpart Tommy Condell is going through this week.

Condell's Lions are stuck in a three-game Southland Conference losing rut that has dropped Southeastern (4-6, 1-4) into the SLC basement and right out of a scintillating race for the conference championship. The Lions are the only team that is not within one game of the lead for the league's automatic playoff berth.

Now they go on the road to play Whitten's rejuvenated Sam Houston team. The Bearkats (4-4, 2-3) had their own three-game slide to open the season but have bounced back with victories over Stephen F. Austin (34-31) and Nicholls State (47-37) to get back in it.

Whitten has nothing to offer Condell in the way of advice that Condell doesn't really already know.

“I think you just keep preparing and sawing wood and pecking away at it. There's not really any one thing,” Whitten said. “We've got a good senior class, good leadership.

“I think if you sign up to play football, you sign up to coach, you're obligated to give it your best shot regardless of what your record is. Every Saturday in college football it's a great opportunity to go out and play ball. We keep preaching that same song.”

The biggest difference between the first three games and the last two, Whitten said, is that the Bearkats quit letting the other team play keep-away from their talented quarterback, Rhett Bomar.

“I felt like in those three losses our opponents did a great job of controlling the game, controlling the ball, and last week at Nicholls we were able to control the ball a little bit and that was nice,” said Whitten, whose team had over 90 offensive snaps against the Colonels.

“During our losing streak, SFA controlled the ball completely, as well as Northwest Louisiana and McNeese both. I think it gets frustrating at some point as well, and I think we let that bother us some.”

Whitten said senior leadership is a key component in turning things around, and Condell well knows the value of that. Trouble is, the Lions have only 11 seniors, including only three who are four-year Lions.

“They have gone through a lot,” Condell said. “Two out of those three seniors have had four different coaches as a position coach, and they've had four different head coaches.”

Still, Southeastern's ability to pull itself out of its tailspin will hinge largely on what kind of leadership it has in the locker room. Certainly the coaches have a role to play, but it always means more coming from a teammate.

And Condell doesn't really care whether that teammate is a senior or a rookie - although the job starts with those four-year guys.

“That senior needs to be able to tell that other senior, junior, sophomore, freshman, that their focus in practice is not where it needs to be, their hand is not on that line properly,” Condell said. “If it's from the senior, great, because that's their duty, that's their job.

“If it comes from a freshman, that's OK, too. I don't care what year it is - and we have those individuals, from freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior... They have to learn to be accountable for their play.”

On Saturday, there was some sentiment that the smallest crowd of the season in Strawberry Stadium contributed to the Lions' lack of early intensity and poor start. That won't be a problem this week; what will be is that nine-game conference road losing streak the Lions carry into Huntsville.

Nought but a teachable moment, however, in Condell's view.

“We're excited about going on the road,” he said. “We need to go on the road because honestly we need to learn to focus on the road. We've played competitively on the road and had chances... but we need to find a way to win on the road... This is what we need.”

And besides, here's where character is either built or revealed, depending on your perspective.

“This is a challenge. You've got to face these challenges,” Condell said. “When everything's going good and things are hunky dory, you don't know what kind of man you are.

“This is where it counts. This is where all the chips actually mean something. Not when you're 8-0 and 10-0. That's easy. It's these times now when these seniors come into play... and learn more about becoming men.”