Eastern Illinois quarterback Pierce Holley hands off to redshirt sophomore Jay Pearson in first-half action Thursday night at Memorial Stadium. (Photo by Sandy King, EIUPanthers.com)
By Dan Verdun
CHAMPAIGN – It’s been five years since Eastern Illinois played a Big Ten Conference opponent. And while the FBS league has swelled to 18 teams in that time, EIU’s fortunes haven’t grown against the Power 4 conference in the same manner.
The Panthers (0-1) were shut out for the third consecutive time by a Big Ten foe as Illinois (1-0) throttled EIU, 45-0, Thursday night at Memorial Stadium.
Turnovers led to a 31-0 halftime deficit as Illinois scored 17 points off those first-half miscues. Eastern allowed just 17 points off turnovers the entire 2023 season.
By night’s end, EIU had suffered four turnovers: two fumbles and two interceptions.
“You’re never going to be very successful if you’re minus-four in the turnover margin,” EIU head coach Chris Wilkerson said.
Center Drew Wilder said, “We are taught since the first day of fall camp (the importance of) turnover margin. That’s how you win or lose games.”
EIU previously was shut out by Indiana (52-0) in 2019 and by Northwestern (41-0) in 2015. Adam Cushing and Kim Dameron were the EIU head coaches, respectively, in those seasons.
The last time the Panthers scored on a Big Ten opponent came in a 42-20 season-opening loss at Minnesota in 2014.
Thursday’s game marked the fourth time in program history Eastern opened against a Big Ten member. The Panthers are 0-10 all-time against teams from that league.
Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer threw for 213 yards, 163 coming in the first half along with a career-high four touchdown passes. He was 19-for-24 passing.
Illini back Kaden Feagin topped the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career, finishing with 108 yards on 16 carries.
The Illini outgained the Panthers, 486-196. Illinois gained 27 first downs, compared to just nine for Eastern.
“We came in with a good game plan. We knew and expected what they were going to run,” senior linebacker Anthony Shockey said. “They gave us a couple of new things that they did a better job schematically running on us. (On) stuff like that we weren’t fitting up the right way.”
Illinois is 19-0 all-time against FCS opponents.
Game changers
9:27, 1st quarter: On his first career carry, EIU redshirt sophomore Jay Pearson was stripped of the ball by Illinois defender Scott Miles. Seth Coleman recovered for the Illini, thwarting a Panther drive that had reached the Illinois 23. It was Eastern’s deepest penetration in the half.
“We had that very first drive (after) we got off the field on defense. We got the ball back and were driving into scoring territory and we fumble the ball,” Wilkerson said.
4:51, 2nd quarter: Eastern quarterback Pierce Holley’s pass intended for Pearson was intercepted by Torrie Cox Jr. at the EIU 29. Two plays later, Illinois scored a touchdown to take a 24-0 lead.
3:18, 3rd quarter: Holley found receiver DeAirious Smith for a 26-yard completion on a 4th-and-8 from the Illinois 40-yard line. However, Smith fumbled and Illinois recovered on its 13 ending the Panther threat.
What it means
Eastern Illinois has completed one half of its two-game set with Big Ten FBS opponents on this year’s schedule. The Panthers play at Northwestern Sept. 14.
According to published reports, EIU receives a $500,000 payout from Illinois and a $450,000 guarantee from Northwestern. That money is a significant amount for the Panther athletic budget.
Prime Time Panthers
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Panther players in the game:
Elijawah Tolbert, LB: The senior led EIU with a game-high 12 tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
Anthony Shockey, LB: The redshirt senior registered nine solo tackles and had a pass breakup in the end zone.
DeAirious Smith, WR: The senior led the team with five catches for 63 yards.
What’s next?
EIU returns to FCS scheduling by hosting regional rival Indiana State in a non-conference matchup at 6 p.m. Sept. 7. The game also marks the Panthers’ home opener.
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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