2023 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team
American college football season
2023 Eastern Illinois Panthers football | |
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Conference | Big South–OVC |
Ranking | |
FCS Coaches | No. 24 |
Record | 8–3 (4–2 Big South–OVC) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Joe Davis (2nd season) |
Defensive coordinator | Clay Bignell (1st season) |
Home stadium | O'Brien Field |
Seasons |
| Conf | Overall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gardner–Webb +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 25 UT Martin + | 5 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eastern Illinois | 4 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bryant | 4 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Southeast Missouri State | 3 | – | 3 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tennessee Tech | 2 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Robert Morris | 2 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Charleston Southern | 2 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tennessee State | 2 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lindenwood * | 1 | – | 5 | 3 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2023 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Big South–OVC Football Association during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Chris Wilkerson, the Panthers played home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois.
Preseason
Preseason coaches' poll
The Big South-OVC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 25, 2023. The Panthers were picked to finish in eighth place.[1]
Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
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1 | Southeast Missouri | 96 (6) |
2 | Gardner-Webb | 86 (2) |
3 | UT Martin | 85 (1) |
4 | Tennessee Tech | 58 (1) |
5 | Tennessee State | 57 |
6 | Bryant | 48 |
7 | Lindenwood | 45 |
8 | Eastern Illinois | 33 |
9 | Charleston Southern | 30 |
10 | Robert Morris | 12 |
Preseason Watchlist
The Panthers had ten players selected to the preseason Big South-OVC watchlist.[2]
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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August 31 | 5:00 p.m. | at Indiana State* |
| ESPN+ | W 27–0 | 4,355 |
September 9 | 1:00 p.m. | at Bowling Green* | ESPN+ | L 15–38 | 12,312 | |
September 16 | 2:00 p.m. | Illinois State* |
| ESPN+ | W 14–13 | 6,602 |
September 23 | 2:00 p.m. | McNeese* |
| ESPN+ | W 31–28 | 6,565 |
September 30 | 6:00 p.m. | at Northwestern State* | ESPN+ | W 19–10 | 6,021 | |
October 7 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 18 UT Martin![]() |
| ESPN+ | L 27–28 OT | 8,078 |
October 14 | 2:00 p.m. | at Southeast Missouri State | ESPN+ | L 28–35 | 7,263 | |
October 21 | 2:00 p.m. | Bryant |
| ESPN+ | W 25–24 OT | 3,690 |
November 4 | 2:00 p.m. | at Lindenwood | ESPN+ | W 16–10 | 3,788 | |
November 11 | 12:00 p.m. | Tennessee State |
| ESPN+ | W 30–17 | 3,423 |
November 18 | 11:00 a.m. | at Robert Morris | ESPN+ | W 28–14 | 2,118 | |
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[3][4]
Game summaries
at Bowling Green
Game Two – Eastern Illinois Panthers (1–0) at Bowling Green Falcons (0–1) – Game summary
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern Illinois | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
Bowling Green | 7 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
Game information |
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Statistics | Eastern Illinois | Bowling Green |
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First downs | 20 | 25 |
Plays–yards | 59-325 | 64-509 |
Rushes–yards | 26–75 | 34–141 |
Passing yards | 250 | 368 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 21–33–1 | 25-30-0 |
Time of possession | 29:48 | 30:12 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
---|---|---|---|
Eastern Illinois | Passing | Pierce Holley | 21/32, 250 yards, 2 TDS, 1 INT |
Rushing | Kevin Daniels | 15 carries, 78 yards | |
Receiving | DeAirious Smith | 4 receptions, 83 yards, TD | |
Bowling Green | Passing | Connor Bazelak | 23/28, 319 yards, 3 TDS |
Rushing | Terion Stewart | 10 carries, 51 yards, 2 TDS | |
Receiving | Ta'ron Keith | 6 receptions, 123 yards |
at Northwestern State
Eastern Illinois Panthers at Northwestern State Demons – Game summary
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Panthers | 3 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 19 |
Demons | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at Harry Turpin Stadium, Natchitoches, Louisiana
- Date: September 30
- Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
- Game weather: Sunny, 91 °F (33 °C)
- Game attendance: 6,021
- Referee: Gary Leeper
- TV: ESPN+
Game information |
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First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
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Statistics | EIU | NWST |
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First downs | 18 | 19 |
Total yards | 349 | 350 |
Rushing yards | 75 | 69 |
Passing yards | 274 | 281 |
Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
Time of possession | 28:25 | 31:35 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Eastern Illinois | Passing | Pierce Holley | 19/37, 274 yards, TD |
Rushing | M. J. Flowers | 15 rushes, 48 yards | |
Receiving | Justin Bowick | 4 receptions, 130 yards, TD | |
Northwestern State | Passing | Quaterius Hawkins | 27/44, 281 yards, INT |
Rushing | Scooter Adams | 9 rushes, 29 yards | |
Receiving | Zach Patterson | 7 receptions, 74 yards |
References
- ^ "Southeast Missouri Voted 2023 Preseason Big South-OVC Football Association Favorite". bigsouthovcfootball.com. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
- ^ "Big South-OVC Football Association Reveals Preseason Watch List". bigsouthovcfootball.com. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Eastern Illinois Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Football Schedule". Eastern Illinois University Athletics Eastern Illinois University Athletics. Retrieved April 21, 2023.