Everything.

The Eagles are 11-0 after dumping Arkansas Tech 40-28 last week and we should assume they feel they can do the same to Catawba.

This is the team that came back from a 17-0 deficit against the Indians on Oct. 2 in a 28-17 victory.

“You’ve got to score points up there,” said Catawba coach David Bennett. “And you’ve got to stop their running game.”

That sounds easy for the 11-1 Indians, who lead the nation in rush defense (55 yards per game) and are averaging 30 points per game.

But Bennett realizes that Carson-Newman’s offense is averaging 43 points per contest and last week, rushed for a whopping 405 yards against Arkansas State. And stop the run and the Eagles will pass.

“They are very strong,” Bennett said. “Their linemen are outstanding, their running backs are big and they’ve got great wide receivers in Quez Rumph and Jarvoni Jackson. So our defense will have the chance to get some respect against a very powerful Carson-Newman offense.”

The Eagles have seven — count ‘em, seven — backs with at least 262 yards rushing, led by Antwon Oliver’s 1,085.

But the real key is quarterback Leonard Guyton, who has lost a grand total of two games in the last four seasons, two at Carson-Newman and his last two in high school.

“He’s the heart and soul of that team,” Bennett said. “The kid’s a winner. He’s their field general.”

Guyton has passed for 1,192 and has rushed for 442.

Rumph has given Bennett nightmares in the past. The senior speedster leads the Eagles with 30 catches for a 17.7 average. But his real strength may be in kick returning. He averaged nine yards per punt reutrn and 20 yards per kickoff return.

But the key for Catawba will be stopping the run.

Defensively, Bennett says to look at the all-South Atlantic Conference team.

“They’ve got more all-confernce players than we do,” Bennett said. “They have eight players to five for little ol’ Catawba, even though we’re leading the nation in rush defense and are third overall. Our defense still doesn’t get the respect it deserves.”

Carson-Newman’s defense is led by defensive tackle Cedric Killings, a 6-3, 315-pounder.

“Killing’s all-world,” said Bennett. “He’s on every All-American team there is to make. He’s lost a lot of weight, going from 350 to 315.”

Bennett also likes the other tackle, William Hyppolite, a 6-4, 275-pounder and defensive back Montrae Ford.

“Golly, what a great player Ford is,” he said.

Bennett can talk all the numbers he wants. But he realizes the real battle for his Indians may come between the ears.

Does any team feel mentally that it can defeat Carson-Newman, a team who plays for the national championship seemingly every single season?

“I think we can,” Bennett said. “When we lost to them the first time, we said, let’s win out and get another shot at them. And our guys did it. We’re honored to get to play them again.”

Catawba won’t be too emotional, either.

“I’ve said all season this is a very mature group,” Bennett said. “They’re focused.”

Carson-Newman holds a 25-6-1 advantage in the series. Catawba was the last SAC team to beat the Eagles, back in 1996 but hasn’t won in Jefferson City since 1987.

Catawba has buses going to the game and was still filling them up on Friday morning.

Bennett hopes a new trend begins tommorrow.

“Their program is where we want to be,” he said. “You get to the national championship two out of the last three years and you don’t have to say anymore.”

NOTES: Carson-Newman’s score last week is deceiving. The Eagles were up 40-7 before three touchdown passes in the final three minutes made it look respectable. ... The winner of the Carson-Newman-Catawba game will face the winner of University of California at Davis-Northeast Oklahoma winner.