DeAirious Smith (88) celebrates his 31-yard touchdown reception in Saturday’s game at Bowling Green. (Photo by Sandy King, EIUPanthers.com)
By Dan Verdun
Falling behind an FBS opponent on the road is never a good idea. That certainly proven to be the case for Eastern Illinois Saturday at Bowling Green.
After failing to tie the game on a missed extra point, EIU surrendered two second-quarter touchdowns. Thus, the Panthers chased points the rest of the afternoon in a 38-15 loss to the Falcons.
“Our conversion downs, being able to continue drives offensively on third and fourth downs, and being able to get off the field on third or fourth downs defensively, was a little bit of a struggle,” EIU head coach Chris Wilkerson said. “And certainly, they (Bowling Green) won the battle of explosive plays.”
A week after shutting out Indiana State, Eastern Illinois (1-1) gave up 509 yards to Bowling Green (1-1), a member of the FBS Mid-American Conference.
“They established the run and did a good job of getting the ball into their playmakers’ hands on the perimeter,” Wilkerson said. “Our tackling certainly wasn’t as good as it was the first week.”
Bowling Green quarterback Colin Bazelak started the game completing 12 straight passes. During the streak, he accrued 163 passing yards and one touchdown. Bazelak finished with 319 yards and three touchdowns.
Game changers
4:57, 1st quarter: Transfer running back Kevin Daniels caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Pierce Holley, pulling EIU to within a point of tying the score. However, the Panthers missed the extra point.
1:31, 2nd quarter: On a fourth-and-long play, Holley threw a 31-touchdown strike to receiver DeAirious Smith, cutting the Bowling Green lead to single digits at 21-12.
10:32, 4th quarter: Julian Patino, a member of EIU’s soccer team last spring, kicked his first career field goal, a 31-yarder for the Panthers’ final tally.
What it means
With its FBS guarantee game in the books and $350,000 in the bank, Eastern turns its focus to its home opener next weekend.
Primetime Panthers
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Panther players in the game:
Daniels, RB: The redshirt sophomore led all rushers with 78 yards on 15 carries. The Northern Arizona transfer added four catches for 38 yards and touchdown.
Smith, WR: The junior reeled in four receptions for 83 yards and touchdown.
Jacob Horvath, P: The Australian averaged 43.7 yards per kick and ran 23 yards for a first down on a fake punt.
What’s next?
EIU continues its non-conference schedule, hosting rival Illinois State in the Mid-America Classic at 2 p.m. Sept. 16.
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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