EIU defensive end Joel Barrows (6) and his Panther teammates are after their eighth win of the season, the most since the 11-win season of 2013. (Photo by EIUPanthers.com)
By Dan Verdun
Eastern Illinois travels to Moon Township, Pa. with more than just thoughts of wrapping up its final regular season schedule Saturday against Robert Morris.
Should the Panthers defeat the Colonials, EIU would reach eight wins and, at the very least, put itself into the FCS playoff selection committee conversation.
The game will pit two of the biggest turnaround teams in FCS. After winning just two games last season, EIU enters the weekend 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big South-OVC Association.
Second-year Eastern head coach Chris Wilkerson played for the Panthers in the early 1990s. He earned an EIU degree and then launched his coaching career as an assistant under Bob Spoo.
“This means a lot to me. This place impacted and transformed my life personally,” he said. “And it means so much to so many other guys that played here.”
Robert Morris, meanwhile, has rebounded significantly from an 0-11 season a year ago. The Colonials are 4-6 overall and 2-3 in the Big South-OVC Association.
“Winning is not easy, I don’t care what anybody says,” RMU head coach Bernard Clark, Jr. said. “It’s tough. And the toughest thing is managing all of the personalities on the team. And not just the team, you’ve also got the coaches’ personalties, the trainer’s personality, the equipment manager. So you’re trying to get everybody on the same page and everybody aboard to get that thing turned. It’s a little tough at times.”
Despite the challenges, both coaches have gotten their teams headed in the right direction.
“The biggest thing our guys are doing lately is just believing in each other,” Clark said. “I’m sure Coach (Wilkerson) would say the same thing about his team. His guys are believing in each other and believing they can get it done.”
This week’s opponent
Robert Morris is riding a two-game winning streak. A week after surprising Southeast Missouri, 21-20, on the road, RMU dumped Charleston Southern, 14-12, at home.
“They are playing very, very hard. They have won three of the five games they’ve played at home so far,” Wilkerson noted.
Clark, a former Miami (Fla.) standout and 2022 Orange Bowl Hall of Fame inductee, has coached Robert Morris for six seasons.
Last week, the Colonials scored both of their touchdowns in the fourth quarter rally past Charleston Southern. Sophomore quarterback Zach Tanner came off the bench to ignite the comeback when redshirt sophomore Tyler Szalkowski was injured.
The RMU defense held Charleston Southern scoreless on four second-half possessions as the Colonial offense rallied. Defensive back William Barber stopped Charleston Southern quarterback Isaiah Bess short of a first down to seal the victory.
Quarterback Anthony Chiccitt has been the RMU starter for most of the season. In nine games, the redshirt junior has completed 66 percent of his passes for 16 touchdowns against only four interceptions.
Chiccitt missed last week’s game with an injury. He threw for 65 yards, including the 4-yard TD pass to tight end Chaese Jackson, on the Colonials’ game-winning drive at SEMO.
Redshirt sophomore Noah Robinson leads the Big South-OVC with 61 receptions for 730 yards and five TDs.
“They do a lot of different things on offense,” Wilkerson said of RMU. “There’s a lot of eye candy (with) multiple motions and shifts, so you’ve got to get yourself lined up. You’ve got make sure your eyes are in the right place and be able to respond very quickly to a lot of different looks.”
Defensively, the Colonials are “big and physical up front,” Wilkerson said.
“They do a ton of things with No. 23 (Harvard graduate transfer Diassa Diakite) in their secondary. He plays all over,” Wilkerson said. “They play with the middle closed a little more than what we’ve seen this year (from other teams).”
Kickoff: 11 a.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: WEIU.net/hitmix
Key matchup to watch
EIU pass protection vs. RMU defense
Eastern Illinois ranks last among Big South-OVC teams in sacks allowed. EIU quarterback Pierce Holley has been sacked 34 times in 10 games.
In its two Big South-OVC losses, Eastern allowed opponents to sack Holley eight times. In the three league wins, the Panthers have allowed 2.3 sacks per game.
“He’s an outstanding quarterback who makes unbelievable decisions,” Clark said of Holley. “Obviously they put the game in his hands. He does a good job of distributing the ball.”
Clark, a former NFL linebacker, sees disrupting Holley as the path to RMU success.
“He’s the key to that thing more than anything else. He sets things up. He does a great job of surveying the field,” Clark said. “It’s tough (on defense because) he can throw a guy open when you’re in man coverage, and he can pick you apart when you’re in zone.
“We’ve got to find a game plan (laughs) that works for this guy because he’s done an outstanding job, and he’s the biggest reason they’ve turned this thing around.”
What’s at stake?
An EIU win moves the Panthers to 8-3 overall. Whether that’s enough to get them into the 24-team FCS playoff bracket remains a question mark.
Regardless, Wilkerson shared his feelings on EIU’s season as a whole with an eye toward the future.
“We keep saying that we’re rebuilding or trying to restore our storied tradition brick by brick, (but) there’s still a ton of work to do,” he said. “It’s an honor and a privilege to come into this building every single day and lead the players in our program.
“The players have done a phenomenal job of buying into the ‘we, not me’ mentality and playing for each other. Our coaching staff has continued to do a very good job of growing in year two.”
Quick hits
The last time Eastern Illinois qualified for the FCS playoffs was 2015 under then-head coach Kim Dameron. … Redshirt freshman running back M.J. Flowers was named the Big South-OVC Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week following his 201-yard, 4-touchdown game in EIU’s win against Tennessee State. … Freshman punter Jacob Horvath was chosen as the league’s Special Teams Player of the Week. The Australia native averaged 42.4 yards per punt and had two kicks pin TSU inside its own 20-yard line. … Turnovers gained were again a major factor in an EIU win, last week against the Tigers. Defensive back Tyrus Harvey snagged an interception in the end zone, and Payton Orth forced a fumble on a TSU punt return. … Corner Russell Dandy became the EIU single-season leader in pass breakups with the two he recorded against TSU last weekend. Dandy’s 17 PBUs moved him past Ben Brown, who had 16 in 2004. … Robert Morris plays its games in Joe Walton Stadium, named for the “creator” of RMU football. Walton, a former pro player, coached for many years in the NFL, most notably as the head coach of the New York Jets (1983-89). Walton was named the head coach of the inaugural Robert Morris football team in 1993. He coached the Colonials through the 2013 season. Walton passed away in 2021 at age 85.
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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