Eastern Illinois Looks to Play OVC Spoiler Panthers Travel to Tennessee State
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Eastern Illinois at Tennessee State Saturday - November 8 - 1 p.m. - LP Field (68,798) Contact: Rich Moser • [email protected] • (217) 581-7480 • Fax (217) 581-6434 • www.EIUpanthers.com GAME 10 Eastern Illinois Looks To Play OVC Spoiler Panthers Travel To Tennessee State Eastern Illinois (4-5, 2-3 OVC) at No. 22 Tennessee State (7-2, 4-1 OVC) LP Field (68,798) • Nashville, Tenn. November 8, 2008 • 1 p.m. • TV: None QUICK FACTS THE GAME In one of several preseason publications this week’s Ohio Valley Conference clash between Eastern Illinois and Tennessee State was picked as the OVC game of the year that COACHES: could decide the conference champion. While EIU is no longer in the race to win the title Bob Spoo (Purdue, 1960) EIU Record ...........131-107-1 (21st year) for themselves this game will still go a long way towards determining the OVC champion OVC Record ................58-27 (12th year) as Tennessee State is currently one of three OVC teams with just one conference loss. vs. Tennessee State ............................ 6-3 EIU has had success against the Tigers winning seven of the last meetings. EIU enters the weekend playing the role of spoiler as the Panthers look to finish out James Webster (North Carolina, 1972) the season strong in search of a fourth straight winning season. The Panthers rolled over TSU Record ...................20-22 (4th year) Murray State on Saturday as they rushed for a season high 226 yards with three backs Overall Record ...............................Same finishing with more than 80 yards rushing. OVC Record ..................14-12 (4th year) Tennessee State improved to 4-1 in the OVC on Saturday with an easy win over vs. EIU ............................................... 0-3 Tennessee Tech. TSU features the league’s top rusher in Javarris Williams who had 125 yards against TTU. Transfer quarterback Dominic Grooms was also called to duty SERIES throwing for 138 yards and two scores with a 15-for-19 effort. 12th meeting (EIU leads 7-4) LAST MEETING EASTERN ILLINOIS - TENNESSEE STATE SERIES EIU 38, TSU 35 on Oct. 27, 2007 This will be the 12th meeting between Eastern Illinois and Tennessee State. The at Nashville’s LP Field two schools first met in 1982 with TSU knocking off EIU 20-19 in the NCAA I-AA quarterfinals. Since joining the OVC in 1998, EIU has won seven of ten meetings RANKINGS including four in a row. The Panthers are 3-2 against Tennessee State in games played at Eastern Illinois ................................. --/-- LP Field including a 38-35 victory last season as Tyler Wilke won the contest with a 30 Tennessee State ..............................22/22 yard field goal as time expired. .............................. Sports Network/FCS Coaches Eastern Illinois (4-5, 2-3 OVC) Tennessee State (7-2, 4-1 OVC) RADIO Hit Mix 88.9 FM Date Opponent Score/Time Date Opponent Score/Time www.weiuhitmix.net Aug. 28 at Central Michigan L 12-31 Aug. 30 at Alabama A&M W 34-13 Play-by-Play ........................ Mike Bradd Sept. 6 at Illinois L 21-47 Sept. 6 SOUTHERN W 34-32 Analyst ............................. Jack Ashmore Sept. 13 INDIANA STATE W 38-3 Sept. 13 vs. Jackson State W 41-18 Sept. 20 at Illinois State W 25-21 Sept. 20 * EASTERN KENTUCKY W 34-20 TELEVISION Sept. 27 * JACKSONVILLE ST. L 10-23 Sept. 27 vs. Florida A&M L 21-28 None Oct. 9 * at UT Martin L 26-29 Oct. 4 * at UT Martin W 30-27 (o) Oct. 18 * SOUTHEAST MISSOURI W 24-21 Oct. 18 * AUSTIN PEAY W 37-34 INTERNET Oct. 25 * at Eastern Kentucky L 7-20 Oct. 25 * at Southeast Missouri L 20-27 (o) Live Stats ..................www.tsutigers.com Nov. 1 * MURRAY STATE W 34-6 Nov. 1 * TENNESSEE TECH W 41-14 Vidoe Stream ........ www.OVCSports.TV Nov. 8 * at Tennessee State 1 pm Nov. 8 * EASTERN ILLINOIS 1 pm Nov. 15 * AUSTIN PEAY 1:30 pm Nov. 15 * at Jacksonville State 2 pm Nov. 22 * at Tennessee Tech 1:30 p Nov. 22 * at Murray State 1 pm * Ohio Valley Conference Game * Ohio Valley Conference Game Times Central All Times Central Believe In Blue • 12 NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances • OVC Champs 2006, 2005, 2002, 2001 November 8, 2008 • Eastern Illinois at Tennessee State • Page 2 • www.EIUpanthers.com EASTERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH BOB SPOO 2008 SPORTS NETWORK The dean of Ohio Valley Conference Coaches, Eastern Illinois head coach Bob Spoo TOP 25 returns to the sidelines for his 21st season on the sidelines and 22nd season overall. Spoo (Week 10) missed the 2006 season with a medical illness. His career record is 131-107-1 at EIU including a 58-27 mark in OVC action. Since taking over the program in 1987, Spoo has Rk. Team 2008 Record become one of the most respected coaches in the game with numerous assistants moving on 1. James Madison (91) 8-1 2. Appalachian State (17) 7-2 to succeed at all levels of the coaching business. He was the 1995 Football Gazette I-AA 3. Cal Poly (1) 6-1 Coach of the Year and runner-up for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award in 2000. 4. Northern Iowa 7-2 A 1960 graduate of Purdue University, Spoo has coached the Panthers to 8 NCAA FCS 5. Montana 8-1 playoff berths and ten Top 25 national rankings. 6. Villanova 6-2 7. Richmond 6-3 8. New Hampshire 7-1 TENNESSEE STATE HEAD COACH JAMES WEBSTER 9. Weber State 8-2 James Webster is in his fourth season as the Tennessee State head coach and enters 10. Wofford 6-2 11. Elon 7-2 November with his Tigers squad in contention for the Ohio Valley Conference championship. 12. Southern Illinois 6-2 Webster has compiled a 20-22 overall record including a 14-12 mark in the OVC. A 1972 13. Massachusetts 6-3 graduate of North Carolina, Webster served as an assistant coach at several schools including 14. William & Mary 6-2 UNC, Florida, Kansas, Colorado and Northwestern prior to taking over the TSU program. 15. Furman 7-3 16. Central Arkansas 7-2 17. Western Illinois 5-3 SCOUTING TENNESSEE STATE 18. McNeese State 5-3 Tennessee State features a diverse offense that ranks 18th in the country in passing and 19. South Carolina State 7-2 20. UT Martin 7-2 25th in the nation overall. Senior Javarris Williams leads the OVC in rushing at 104.9 yards 21. Harvard 6-1 per game while quarterback Antonio Heffner is a dual threat ranking 14th in the nation in 22. Tennessee State 7-2 total offense. Heffner was hurt in the loss to Southeast Missouri and did not play against 23. Northern Arizona 6-3 Tennessee Tech. The Tigers defense has also stepped up ranking 28th in the nation with 24. Colgate 7-2 25. Liberty 7-2 Kellan Woodard collecting five sacks on the year. NUMBER TO REMEMBER This week’s number to remember is 60, that is the average number of yards the Panthers 2008 FCS Coaches Poll defense has held Javarris Williams to during his three previous games against EIU. Williams (Week 10) is one of the best running backs in the history of the Ohio Valley Conference rushing for 4,236 yards, an average of 100.8 yards per game. In 2005 the EIU defense stuffed Williams Rk. Team 2008 Record for 57 yards while he was limited to only 38 yards in 2006. Last year at LP Field, Williams 1. James Madison (28) 8-1 did break free for 86 yards as both teams combined for 517 yards on the ground. 2. Appalachian State 7-2 3. Cal Poly 6-1 4. Northern Iowa 7-2 A LITTLE HISTORY 5. Montana 8-1 Eastern Illinois will travel to LP Field for the sixth time on Saturday as the Panthers have 6. Richmond 6-3 7. New Hampshire 7-1 posted a 3-2 record at the home of the Tennessee Titans. Including Tennessee State, EIU 8. Villanova 6-2 has played three different opponents at National Football League Stadiums with a combined 9. Southern Illinois 6-2 record of 4-3 all time. The Panthers lost to San Diego State in 2001 at Quallcomm Stadium 10. Weber State 8-2 (San Diego Chargers) and rebounded to win against Florida Atlantic in 2001 with a 38-10 11. Elon 7-2 12. Wofford 6-2 win at Pro Player Stadium (Miami Dolphins). 13. Massachusetts 6-3 14. Central Arkansas 7-2 MATCH-UP TO WATCH THIS WEEK 15. McNeese State 5-3 16. William & Mary 6-2 EASTERN ILLINOIS RUN DEFENSE VERSUS TENNESSEE STATE OFFENSE 17. Furman 7-3 18. South Carolina State 7-2 Eastern Illinois had one of its best run stopping days of the season on Saturday afternoon 19. Western Illinois 5-3 against Murray State as the Panthers allowed only 88 yards on the ground. That marked 20. UT Martin 7-2 21. Harvard 6-1 the third straight game that the EIU defense has clamped down on the run allowing only 22. Tennessee State 7-2 133 yards to Southeast Missouri and 108 yards to Eastern Kentucky. 23. North Dakota State 5-4 24. Northern Arizona 5-3 This week EIU will once again have its hands full with a running offense as TSU ranks 25. Liberty 7-2 second in the OVC in rushing and 18th in the nation. Javarris Williams is averaging 104.9 yards per contest and ranks 18th in the nation.