Former EIU defensive lineman and assistant coach Chris Wilkerson is in his third season as the Panthers’ head coach. (Photo by Sandy King, EIUPanthers.com)
By Dan Verdun
For third-year Eastern Illinois head coach Chris Wilkerson, Saturday night’s non-conference matchup with the regional rival Indiana State brings an added flavor.
“I’m a Hoosier myself, born and raised in Indianapolis,” Wilkerson said. “Most of the guys that graduated from my high school and played FCS football played for the Sycamores.”
It was a different story for Wilkerson.
“When I was recruited, I just felt like Eastern Illinois was the right fit for me. Obviously it was the best decision I’ve ever made,” he said.
Not only did Wilkerson play Division I football while earning a degree, but he also met his future wife, Sharna, while in Charleston.
After his playing days as a Panther defensive lineman ended, Wilkerson served as an EIU assistant under longtime head coach Bob Spoo.
Both EIU (0-1) and Indiana State (0-1) are coming off shutout losses to Big Ten programs last week.
Saturday’s Eastern home opener at Charleston’s O’Brien Field opener falls between road games at Big Ten schools.
The Panthers fell, 45-0, at Illinois Aug. 29 in Champaign. EIU travels to Evanston Sept. 14 to play Northwestern.
‘Border war’
EIU opened last season with a 27-0 shutout win over Indiana State in Terre Haute. The game marked Wilkerson’s first as a head coach against the Sycamores.
“We’ve got to take care of the football better than we did last year,” eighth-year Indiana State head coach Curt Mallory said, alluding to the six turnovers the Sycamores committed in the game.
An interesting note is that Indiana State lists Saturday’s game as the 90th meeting between the two nearby schools while Eastern Illinois lists it as the 89th matchup.
Depending on the viewpoint, EIU either holds a 45-40-4 or a 44-49-4 series lead.
“It is the ‘border war,” if you will. It’s about 45 minutes between the two schools,” Wilkerson said.
The series history includes one meeting in the 1983 playoffs. No. 5-ranked Indiana State won that contest, 16-13, in double overtime.
A historical sidenote is the third-quarter appearance of sophomore quarterback Sean Payton, who replaced starter John Rafferty and led the drives that resulted in EIU’s 13 points.
Payton, a Naperville Central High School graduate, enters his second year as Denver Broncos head coach. Payton, whose No. 18 was retired by EIU, led the New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl victory in Feb. 2010.
The opponent
Indiana State, 49-0 losers at Purdue in its season opener, is a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
“We have a lot of young men from the state of Indiana (57). We have a lot of young men from the state of Illinois (18),” Mallory said.
Jacksonville, Ill. native Elijah Owens is listed as the starting quarterback on the Indiana State depth chart. The redshirt freshman completed 5-of-10 passes for 50 yards against Purdue.
Owens was Indiana State’s leading rusher with 47 net yards. He gained 56 yards on the ground, including a 20-yard scamper, but was sacked three times.
Linebacker Garret Ollendieck and defensive back Maddix Blackwell both finished with double-digit tackles against Purdue. Blackwell forced a fumble that Ollendieck recovered.
Kickoff: 6 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: WEIU.net/hitmix
Key matchup to watch
EIU offense vs. Indiana State defense:
In last week’s loss, Eastern Illinois turned the ball over four times. Two of those giveaways stopped deep drives into Illinois territory.
Therefore, the Panther offense must not only eliminate miscues but must also put points on the scoreboard and pressure on the Sycamores.
“They are very senior-heavy, especially in the front six,” Wilkerson said.
What’s at stake: The home opener allows EIU a chance to reset its season after the shutout opening night loss.
“The other thing that we talk about a ton is representing our conference, the Big South-OVC and trying to earn some more respect for our league,” Wilkerson said. “I know the Missouri Valley Football Conference is a very well-recognized conference, but we’ve got a chance to represent ours against a Missouri Valley football team and put our best foot forward Saturday night.”
Quick hits: According to EIU’s game notes, the Panthers will not leave the state of Illinois during its first six games of the 2024 season. That includes three road games and three home games at O’Brien Field. EIU’s three road contests take place at Illinois, Northwestern and Illinois State, which are a combined 355 miles from the Charleston campus. EIU welcomes Indiana State, Lindenwood and Southeast Missouri for home games during those six weeks. … EIU’s first venture outside the Prairie State will be Oct. 12 at Tennessee State where the Panthers will face Eddie George’s Tigers at Nissan Stadium, located 337 miles from Charleston. … It is EIU’s longest stretch of games played in the state to open a season since 1941 when the Panthers played all seven games of the year in-state. … Sixth-year offensive lineman Elkhanan Tanelus was nominated as EIU’s candidate for the William Campbell trophy, presented to the top academic football player in the nation. Tanelus already has both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from EIU and is pursuing a certificate in business technology this fall. … Quarterback Pierce Holley entered the season with 2,741 career passing yards at Eastern. He needed 259 yards to become the 16th player in program history to crack the 3,000-yard mark for a career. Holley passed for 147 yards in the opener at Illinois and now needs 112 yards to reach 3,000 yards. The last to accomplish the feat was Harry Woodbery in 2020. EIU has three players (six total times) that have passed for more than 3,000 yards in a single season. … Eastern Illinois is the first of seven teams either ranked or receiving votes in the major FCS polls on Indiana State’s schedule this season. … Indiana State redshirt senior Matt Ross, who prepped at Montini Catholic, began his collegiate career at EIU. He had a 23-yard reception against Purdue.
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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