Eastern Illinois Panther Football
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EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHER FOOTBALL Contact: Rich Moser • [email protected] • (217) 581-7480 • Fax (217) 581-6434 • www.EIUpanthers.com GAME 4 Passing Records May Be Shattered In OVC Opener Eastern Illinois hosts Murray State Eastern Illinois (1-2, 0-0 OVC) vs. Murray State (1-2, 0-0 OVC) O’Brien Field (10,000) • Charleston, Illinois September 22, 2012 • 6:30 pm • TV: WEIU & OVCDigitalNetwork QUICK FACTS THE GAME Passing records may be shattered on Saturday night as two of the nation’s most prolific passing offenses meet at O’Brien Field. Eastern Illinois is currently COACHES: Dino Babers (Hawai’i, 1984) ranked 5th in the nation in passing offense throwing for 354 yards per game while EIU Record ........................ 1-2 (1st year) EIU is ranked 12th nationally in total offense and 10th in scoring offense at 40.3 OVC Record ...................... 0-0 (1st year) points per game. EIU leads the OVC in all three of those categories. vs. Murray State ................ First meeting Murray State has been one of the OVC’s top passing offenses the past two Chris Hatcher ( seasons and this year ranks second in the conference in passing offense at MUR Record ................ 14-13 (3rd year) 301 yards per game. That passing total ranks them 12th nationally in passing OVC Record ................... 10-6 (3rd year) offense. Overall Record ..........108-40 (13th year) The two teams will be led by two of the OVC’s top passers with EIU’s Jimmy vs. Eastern Illinois ............................. 2-0 Garoppolo and MSU’s Casey Brockman. Garoppolo is 5th nationally in total offense while Brockman ranks 18th nationally. Garoppolo is 4th nationally in SERIES passing yards while Brockman is 9th. 28th meeting, EIU leads 14-13 Last Meeting: THE SERIES @ MUR 36, EIU 27 on Oct. 15, 2011 Eastern Illinois holds a 14-13 all-time series lead over Murray State as the RANKINGS two schools will meet for the 28th time on Saturday night. MSU has won two Eastern Illinois .......................... RV / --- straight after EIU had won nine of the previous ten meetings. This will be the Murray State ............................... --- / --- first time the two schools have met in the Ohio Valley Conference opener. The .............................. Sports Network/FCS Coaches series dates back to 1946. EIU is 9-4 against MSU at O’Brien Field. RADIO Eastern Illinois (1-2, 0-0 OVC) Murray State (1-2, 0-0 OVC) Panther Radio Network Hit Mix 88.9 FM, WRJM 1270 AM, WHOW 1520 AM & WMKR 94.3 FM Date Opponent Score/Time Date Opponent Score/Time www.weiuhitmix.net Aug. 30 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS W 49-28 Sept. 1 at Florida State L 3-69 Play-by-Play ........................ Mike Bradd Sept. 8 at Western Michigan L 21-52 Sept. 8 CENTRAL ARKANSAS L 20-42 Analyst ............................. Jack Ashmore Sept. 15 at Illinois State L 51-54 (2ot) Sept. 15 at Missouri State W 28-23 Sept. 22 * MURRAY STATE 6:30 pm Sept. 22 * at Eastern Illinois 6:30 pm TELEVISION Sept. 29 * AUSTIN PEAY 1:30 pm Sept. 29 * TENNESSEE TECH 6 pm WEIU - TV Oct. 6 * at UT Martin 2 pm Oct. 6 * at Austin Peay 6 pm Play-by-Play ........................ Mike Bradd Oct. 13 * JACKSONVILLE STATE 1:30 pm Oct. 13 * UT MARTIN 3 pm Analyst ............................. Jack Ashmore Oct. 27 * at Eastern Kentucky 11 am Oct. 27 * at Jacksonville State 3 pm Nov. 3 * at Tennessee Tech 1:30 pm Nov. 3 * TENNESSEE STATE 11 am INTERNET Nov. 10 * SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 11 am Nov. 10 * at Eastern Kentucky Noon Live Stats .............www.eiupanthers.com Nov. 17 at Central Arkansas 3 pm Nov. 17 * SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1 pm Live Video ..... OVCDigitalNetwork.com Facebook ........................... /EIUPanthers * Ohio Valley Conference Game * Ohio Valley Conference Game Twitter ...........................@EIU_Panthers A NEW ERA OF PANTHER FOOTBALL • 13 NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances • OVC Champs 2009, 2006, 2005, 2002, 2001 September 22, 2012 • Eastern Illinois vs. Murray State • Page 2 • www.EIUpanthers.com EIU QUICK HITTERS 2012 SPORTS NETWORK TOP 25 (Week 3) Rk. Team 2012 Record 1. North Dakota State (140) 2-0 • Erik Lora had nine catches for 112 yards on Saturday at Illinois State giving him 2. Montana State (9) 3-0 three straight games with 100 yards receiving. The only other receiver in EIU history 3. Sam Houston State (8) 1-1 4. Youngstown State (7) 3-0 to have three straight 100 yard receiving games was Calvin Pierce in 1986. 5. Old Dominion 3-0 6. James Madison 2-1 • Erik Lora’s final catch of the game at Illinois State moved the junior receiver into 7. Wofford (1) 3-0 8. Northern Iowa 1-2 the century club at EIU as it was his 100th career reception. Lora needs 15 more 9. Eastern Washington 1-1 receptions to move into the Panthers career top ten. He has 1,176 career yards. 10. The Citadel 3-0 11. Georgia Southern 1-1 12. Delaware 3-0 • Chavar Watkins was the top target on Saturday making 12 catches for 97 yards. The 13. Towson 1-1 12 receptions is the second most by a Panthers receiver this season and ranks tied for 14. Montana 2-1 the fourth highest single game total in school history. 15. Illinois State 3-0 16. Lehigh 3-0 17. Appalachian State 1-2 • Jimmy Garoppolo had 61 pass attempts on Saturday at Illinois State setting the school 18. New Hampshire 2-1 record for pass attempts. The previous record of 58 was held by Tony Romo and Sean 19. McNeese State 3-0 Payton. Romo had 58 attempts at Hawai’i in 2002. 20. Stony Brook 2-1 21. Eastern Kentucky 2-1 22. Indiana State 2-1 • Jimmy Garoppolo had 37 pass completions on Saturday which is the second highest 23. Maine 1-1 number of completions in a game. The record of 40 was set by Sean Payton in 1985 24. Jacksonville State 1-1 25. Central Arkansas 2-1 against Saginaw Valley. Payton was 40-of-58 in that game for 509 yards. Receiving Votes (OVC & 2012 EIU opponents) • Jimmy Garoppolo had his second 300-yard passing game of the season and sixth of UT Martin, Tennessee State, Eastern Illinois his career on Saturday finishing with 387 yards. That total is the 11th highest passing total in school history. Garoppolo is now fourth on the EIU list for 300-yard games. 2012 FCS Coaches Poll • Converted quarterback Taylor Duncan took over at running back on Saturday at (Week 3) Illinois State finishing with 96 yards on 24 carries. Duncan found the end zone three Rk. Team 2012 Record times, the first time an EIU running back has had three rushing touchdowns since last 1. North Dakota State (25) 2-0 year’s regular season finale at Southern Illinois (Jake Walker - 3). 2. Montana State (1) 3-0 3. Sam Houston State 1-1 3. Youngstown State 3-0 • With his three rushing touchdowns on Saturday, Duncan now has four rushing 5. Old Dominion 3-0 touchdowns for the season and ranks second in the OVC in rushing touchdowns and 6. Wofford 3-0 third overall. Duncan had one rushing touchdown at Northwestern last season. 7. James Madison 2-1 8. Northern Iowa 1-2 9. Eastern Washington 1-1 • Cameron Berra, Taylor Duncan and Erik Lora all rank in the top five in the OVC in 10. Georgia Southern 1-1 scoring and the top 50 nationally. Berra is second in the OVC and 39th in the FCS with 11. Montana 2-1 25 points (8.3 per game). Duncan and Lora are both third in the OVC and 41st in the 12. Delaware 3-0 13. Lehigh 3-0 FCS with 24 points (8 per game). 14. The Citadel 3-0 15. Illinois State 3-0 • Eastern Illinois set a school and OVC record for offensive plays in a game at Illinois 16. Towson 1-1 17. McNeese State 3-0 State as the Panthers ran 106 snaps under center. The previous OVC record was 102 18. Appalachian State 1-2 set by Samford against Southeast Missouri in 2004. 19. New Hampshire 2-1 20. Stony Brook 2-1 21. Central Arkansas 2-1 • Eastern Illinois and Murray State could challenge the FCS record for plays in a game 22. Maine 2-1 by individual and combined teams when they meet this Saturday. The record for single 23. Eastern Kentucky 2-1 team plays is 116 by Stephen F. Austin in 2008. The record for combined plays is 196 24. Harvard 1-0 25. Indiana State 2-1 set by Villanova and UConn in 1989. Murray State already owns the FCS record for combined yards in a game between teams with 1,423 facing Missouri State in 2010. Receiving Votes (OVC & 2012 EIU opponents) Jacksonville State, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech • EIU’s defense picked off a pass for the third straight game as the Panthers have four interceptions on the year. EIU had four interceptions all of last season. A NEW ERA OF PANTHER FOOTBALL • 13 NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances • OVC Champs 2009, 2006, 2005, 2002, 2001 September 22, 2012 • Eastern Illinois vs. Murray State • Page 3 • www.EIUpanthers.com TALE OF THE TAPE MURRAY STATE HEAD COACH CHRIS hatcher Chris Hatcher is in his third season as the head coach at Murray State having posted a 14-13 overall record with back- Points Per Game .............................40.3 ........................17.0 to-back winning seasons. Hatcher was the Harlon Hill Award Average Points Allowed .................44.7 ........................44.7 winner as a quarterback at Valdosta State before later coaching the First Downs ......................................75..........................