2019 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

2019 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
2019 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	1–11 (1–7 OVC)
Head coach	Adam Cushing (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	John Kuceyeski (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Chris Bowers (1st season)
Home stadium	O'Brien Field
	Seasons ← 2018 2020 →

2019 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 Austin Peay +^	7	–	1	9	–	3
No. 17 Southeast Missouri State +^	7	–	1	9	–	3
UT Martin	6	–	2	7	–	5
Eastern Kentucky	5	–	3	7	–	5
Tennessee Tech	3	–	5	6	–	6
Jacksonville State	3	–	5	6	–	6
Murray State	2	–	6	4	–	8
Tennessee State	2	–	6	3	–	9
Eastern Illinois	1	–	7	1	–	11

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2019 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Adam Cushing, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 1–11 overall with a mark of 1–7 in conference play, placing last out of nine teams in the OVC. Eastern Illinois played home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois.

Preseason[edit]

Preseason coaches' poll[edit]

The OVC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 22, 2019. The Panthers were picked to finish in eighth place.^[1]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Jacksonville State	135 (15)
2	Southeast Missouri State	115
3	Eastern Kentucky	99
4	Austin Peay	84
5	Tennessee State	75
6	UT Martin	58
7	Murray State	55
8	Eastern Illinois	38
9	Tennessee Tech	16

Preseason All-OVC team[edit]

The Panthers had one player selected to the preseason all-OVC team.^[2]

Defense

Terrell Greer – DL

Schedule[edit]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	6:00 p.m.	at Chattanooga*	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN3	L 10–24	8,254
September 7	2:30 p.m.	at Indiana*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN	L 0–52	37,784
September 14	2:00 p.m.	No. 13 Illinois State*	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL (Mid-America Classic)	ESPN+	L 3–21	6,119
September 21	12:00 p.m.	at Indiana State*	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	L 6–16	6,216
September 28	4:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN3	L 29–40	7,055
October 5	1:00 p.m.	at Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 17–24	4,205
October 12	12:00 p.m.	No. 17 Jacksonville State	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+	L 20–28	3,170
October 19	2:00 p.m.	at UT Martin	Graham Stadium Martin, TN	ESPN+	L 18–27	2,004
October 26	2:00 p.m.	Eastern Kentucky	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+	L 6–33	4,000
November 9	2:00 p.m.	at Tennessee State	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN+	W 49–38	4,131
November 16	12:00 p.m.	No. 15 Southeast Missouri State	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+	L 12–26	4,069
November 23	2:00 p.m.	at No. 20 Austin Peay	Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN	ESPN+	L 7–35	6,818
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[3]

Game summaries[edit]

At Chattanooga[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	3	7	0	0	10
Mocs	7	10	7	0	24

At Indiana[edit]

Eastern Illinois Panthers (0–1) vs Indiana Hoosiers (1–0) – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0
Hoosiers	21	14	7	10	52

at Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, Indiana

Date: September 7, 2019
Game time: 3:30 p.m.
Game weather: Partly cloudy, 72 °F (22 °C)
Game attendance: 37,784
Referee: Larry Smith
TV announcers (BTN): Joe Beninati (play-by-play), Chuck Long (analyst)
Sources:

Game information

First quarter

(11:05) IU – Miles Marshall 10-yard pass from Michael Penix Jr., Logan Justus kick (Drive: 10 plays, 59 yards, 3:55; Indiana 7–0)
(4:28) IU – Stevie Scott III 5-yard run, Logan Justus kick (Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 4:18; Indiana 14–0)
(1:34) IU – Cole Gest 3-yard run (Drive: 2 plays, 32 yards, 0:29; Indiana 21–0)

Second quarter

(1:44) IU – Peyton Hendershot 8-yard pass from Michael Penix Jr., Logan Justus kick (Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 4:41; Indiana 28–0)
(1:07) IU – Ronnie Walker 64-yard pass from Peyton Ramsey, Logan Justus kick (Drive: 1 play, 64 yards, 8:33; Indiana 35–0)

Third quarter

(7:19) IU – Donovan Hale 43-yard pass from Peyton Ramsey, Logan Justus kick (Drive: 6 plays, 96 yards, 3:07; Indiana 42–0)

Fourth quarter

(13:28) IU – Sampson James 1-yard run, Logan Justus kick (Drive: 7 plays, 55 yards, 2:37; Indiana 49–0)
(11:54) IU – Charles Campbell 48-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 1 yard, 0:45; Indiana 52–0)

Statistics	EIU	IU
First downs	5	26
Total yards	116	555
Rushes/yards	31–52	34–114
Passing yards	64	441
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	11–25–0	30–41–0
Time of possession	27:25	32:35

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Eastern Illinois	Passing	Johnathan Brantley	8/17, 49 yards
	Rushing	Darshon McCullough	6 carries, 17 yards
	Receiving	James Sheehan	2 receptions, 18 yards
Indiana	Passing	Peyton Ramsey	13/14, 226 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Stevie Scott III	12 carries, 61 yards, TD
	Receiving	Donavan Hale	5 receptions, 110 yards, TD

Illinois State[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Redbirds	7	7	7	0	21
Panthers	0	3	0	0	3

At Indiana State[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	6	0	6
Sycamores	10	3	0	3	16

Tennessee Tech[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	0	21	13	6	40
Panthers	7	0	7	15	29

At Murray State[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	7	3	7	17
Racers	7	2	7	8	24

Jacksonville State[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Gamecocks	7	14	0	7	28
Panthers	7	0	7	6	20

At UT Martin[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	11	0	0	7	18
Skyhawks	14	7	0	6	27

Eastern Kentucky[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	7	7	3	16	33
Panthers	0	0	0	6	6

At Tennessee State[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	14	7	14	14	49
Tigers	14	21	3	0	38

Southeast Missouri State[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 15 Redhawks	0	6	7	13	26
Panthers	7	0	3	2	12

At Austin Peay[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	7	0	0	7
No. 20 Governors	7	14	14	0	35

References[edit]

^ "Media Pollsters Tab Jacksonville State as 2019 OVC Football Preseason Favorites". ovcsports.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
^ "JSU's Cooper, SEMO's Hall Named 2019 OVC Preseason Football Players of the Year". ovcsports.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
^ "2019 Eastern Illinois Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 6, 2019.

[Preseason_poll-1] "Media Pollsters Tab Jacksonville State as 2019 OVC Football Preseason Favorites". ovcsports.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.

[OVC_team-2] "JSU's Cooper, SEMO's Hall Named 2019 OVC Preseason Football Players of the Year". ovcsports.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.

[3] "2019 Eastern Illinois Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 6, 2019.

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[2]

[3]

v t e Eastern Illinois Panthers football
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Bowls & rivalries	Illinois State: Mid-America Classic
Culture & lore	Billy the Panther
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