No member of the Central States Football League has a worse record than Peru State.

Yet the 1-8 Bobcats appear to be the victims of a rugged schedule.

“They play good football,” Haskell Indian Nations University coach Eric Brock said. “They move the ball on offense, but they’ve had bad things happen to them.”

Bad things happened to Haskell last week, but the Fightin’ Indians hope to rebound from that 49-9 loss at Texas College when they meet Peru State today. Kickoff for the home finale will be at 1 p.m. at Haskell Stadium.

The combination of a long bus ride to Tyler, Texas, and facing a quality opponent on its home field prevented Haskell (3-6) from posting a winning record this season.

Particularly disappointing to Brock was the subpar performance by his defense – HINU’s strong suit all season.

“We could not do the fundamental stuff,” Brock said. “We really broke down in the fundamental things. We tackled poorly.”

Meanwhile, the offense struggled as it has in all but two games this season. HINU has blasted Trinity Bible, 50-0, and Southwestern Assemblies of God, 36-0, but is averaging just 8.4 points a game in its seven other outings.

In an attempt to hype the offense, Brock used quarterback Kaleb Harris at wide receiver and backup Jody Franklin as signal-caller in the second half against Texas College.

“We might do a little more of that,” Brock said. “We gain another athlete at wide receiver that way.”

Brock has been looking for another skilled wide receiver since freshman Hunter Smith went down with rib injuries. Smith has been out for six weeks and isn’t expected to play today.

Haskell will recognize seniors Cody Wilson and Randy Jackson prior to today’s game. Wilson, a wide receiver from Forney, Texas, is the Indians’ leading receiver. Jackson, a strong safety from Okmulgee, Okla., leads the Tribe in sacks and tackles for losses.

Haskell’s season finale will be next week at Langston.