All the presumptions Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz had about his team's mental toughness were reinforced in last week's loss at Austin Peay.
The Redhawks trailed by as many as 28 points early in the third quarter but mounted a furious comeback to climb back into contention, outscoring the Governors 24-10 in the second half of a 38-31 defeat.
So now, how about an even bigger test of attrition?
Southeast will travel for the second week in a row when it squares off against No. 3 Jacksonville State at 3 p.m. Saturday at Burgess-Snow Field in Jacksonville, Alabama.
"More than anything, I was just glad we didn't give up," Matukewicz said. "Some of the stuff we saw on offense, we really want to see more of. We had good protection. We threw the ball down the field. Jesse did a good job, hit multiple receivers. We were 50 percent on third down. There were some really good things we did offensively that we've got to continue on.
"This is a hard game coming up to play well on offense because no one has against them, but I still like the progress we've had."
Redhawks quarterback Jesse Hosket threw for a career-high 348 yards and three touchdowns on 25 of 44 passing (56.8 percent) against the Govs, spreading the ball out to eight different receivers in the process. He also ran for a 1-yard score in the first quarter and didn't commit a turnover for the third game in a row.
Hosket's performance came against an APSU team that entered the contest ranked first in the league in passing defense, and he did it despite losing his top wide receiver, Kristian Wilkerson, to injury.
"I think it came down to protection," Matukewicz said. "We gave Jesse time. He wasn't scrambling as much. He did have to create several times and got the ball down the field. He just did a good job.
"That was a good defense. They shut out UT Martin."
Defensively, there was plenty of blame to go around for Southeast (2-5 overall, 2-2 Ohio Valley Conference).
The Redhawks fell behind 28-7 at halftime after giving up 316 yards in the first two quarters. Three of APSU's four scoring drives in the opening half lasted only two plays, as the Govs amassed 217 yards on four big plays, two of which were touchdowns.
"We had a lot of missed assignments on the new scheme that we put in, so we gave up the big plays on defense," Matukewicz said. "... We just played terrible defensively in the first half."
Southeast will have its hands full Saturday against one of the top defenses in the country.
JSU (6-1, 4-0) is yielding a league-best 271.6 yards per game, which ranks sixth in the Football Championship Subdivision, and is allowing just 17.1 points per game (second in the OVC). The nationally-ranked Gamecocks are giving up 87.4 rushing ypg and 184.1 passing ypg, figures that rank first and fourth in the conference, respectively.
"They're just suffocating and dominant on defense," Matukewicz said. "You've got to play well on special teams. You've got to make a play somehow, someway, because you're just not going to consistently line up and drive it."
Dominance in the OVC has grown consistent for a JSU team that has won 28 straight conference games, dating back to Nov. 16, 2013. The Gamecocks are three-time defending OVC champions and are two seasons removed from an appearance in the FCS title game.
"It's a testament to their recruiting. They've got great players," Matukewicz said. "They do a good job of getting them ready to play week in, week out because generally, they get everyone's best. Everybody wants to beat them. Their coaching staff has done a great job of consistently getting everyone ready to play."
Offensively, JSU ranks first in the league in both scoring offense (29.6 ppg) and total offense (374 ypg). The Gamecocks are second in the OVC in rushing offense (206.6 ypg) and fifth in passing offense (167.4 ypg).
"They've got a mobile quarterback, very similar to Austin Peay," Matukewicz said. "We've got to do a great job in the run game, but they can still throw it and scramble and things like that. We've got to play well against the run and get off the field on third down."