2018 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

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2018 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Record3–8 (3–5 OVC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorScott Parr (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorCary Fowler (2nd season)
Home stadiumO'Brien Field
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 10 Jacksonville State $^   7 1     8 3  
No. 15 Southeast Missouri State ^   6 2     8 3  
Eastern Kentucky   5 2     7 4  
Murray State   5 3     5 6  
Tennessee State   3 4     4 5  
Eastern Illinois   3 5     3 8  
Austin Peay   3 5     5 6  
UT Martin   2 6     2 9  
Tennessee Tech   1 7     1 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2018 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Kim Dameron in his fifth and final season as head coach, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 3–8 overall with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the OVC. Eastern Illinois played home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois.

On November 18, Dameron was fired.[1] He finished his tenure at Eastern Illinois with a five-year record of 27–30.

Preseason[edit]

OVC media poll[edit]

On July 20, 2018, the media covering the OVC released their preseason poll with the Panthers predicted to finish in fifth place.[2] On July 23, the OVC released their coaches poll with the Panthers predicted to finish in fourth place.[3]

Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Jacksonville State 134 (14)
2 Austin Peay 114 (1)
3 UT Martin 96
4 Tennessee State 91
5 Eastern Illinois 83
6 Eastern Kentucky 64
7 Murray State 39
8 Southeast Missouri State 35
9 Tennessee Tech 19
Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Jacksonville State 126 (14)
2 Austin Peay 112 (4)
3 UT Martin 95
4 Eastern Illinois 73
5 Eastern Kentucky 69
6 Tennessee State 64
7 Southeast Missouri State 62
8 Murray State 24
9 Tennessee Tech 23

Preseason All-OVC team[edit]

The Panthers had three players selected to the preseason all-OVC team.[4]

Schedule[edit]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 13:00 p.m.at Arkansas*SECNL 20–5563,342
September 86:30 p.m.at No. 19 Illinois State*NBCSC+L 10–488,914
September 156:00 p.m.Indiana State*ESPN+L 41–556,420
September 222:00 p.m.Tennessee State
  • O'Brien Field
  • Charleston, IL
ESPN+L 40–417,670
September 296:00 p.m.at Tennessee TechESPN+W 52–387,184
October 66:00 p.m.Murray State
  • O'Brien Field
  • Charleston, IL
ESPN+L 41–483,063
October 133:00 p.m.at No. 8 Jacksonville StateESPN3L 22–4915,649
October 202:00 p.m.UT Martindagger
  • O'Brien Field
  • Charleston, IL
ESPN3W 24–21 OT7,413
October 2712:00 p.m.at Eastern KentuckyESPN+L 23–314,400
November 101:00 p.m.Austin Peay
  • O'Brien Field
  • Charleston, IL
ESPN+W 52–212,149
November 171:00 p.m.at No. 23 Southeast Missouri StateESPN+L 32–383,987
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Game summaries[edit]

At Arkansas[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 0 6 7 7 20
Razorbacks 10 28 10 7 55

At Illinois State[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 0 0 10 0 10
No. 19 Redbirds 7 21 10 10 48

Indiana State[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Sycamores 17 14 14 10 55
Panthers 20 0 7 14 41

Tennessee State[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Tigers 0 13 13 15 41
Panthers 17 7 7 9 40

At Tennessee Tech[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 7 14 10 21 52
Golden Eagles 10 0 7 21 38

Murray State[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Racers 10 14 14 10 48
Panthers 7 10 17 7 41

At Jacksonville State[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 3 6 0 13 22
No. 8 Gamecocks 14 7 14 14 49

UT Martin[edit]

1 2 3 4OT Total
Skyhawks 7 7 0 70 21
Panthers 0 7 14 03 24

At Eastern Kentucky[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 10 7 0 6 23
Colonels 3 7 7 14 31

Austin Peay[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Governors 0 7 7 7 21
Panthers 14 21 3 14 52

At Southeast Missouri State[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 7 0 10 15 32
No. 23 Redhawks 10 7 3 18 38

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Dameron fired as Eastern football coach".
  2. ^ "Media Pollsters Tab Jacksonville State as 2018 OVC Football Preseason Favorites".
  3. ^ "Jacksonville State Picked as 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Football Favorites".
  4. ^ "SEMO's Terry, JSU's Bridges Named OVC Preseason Football Players of the Year".