2018 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Record3–8 (3–5 OVC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorScott Parr (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorCary Fowler (2nd season)
Home stadiumO'Brien Field
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 10 Jacksonville State $^   7 – 1     8 – 3  
No. 15 Southeast Missouri State ^   6 – 2     8 – 3  
Eastern Kentucky   5 – 2     7 – 4  
Murray State   5 – 3     5 – 6  
Tennessee State   3 – 4     4 – 5  
Eastern Illinois   3 – 5     3 – 8  
Austin Peay   3 – 5     5 – 6  
UT Martin   2 – 6     2 – 9  
Tennessee Tech   1 – 7     1 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2018 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Kim Dameron in his fifth and final season as head coach, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 3–8 overall with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the OVC. Eastern Illinois played home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois.

On November 18, Dameron was fired.[1] He finished his tenure at Eastern Illinois with a five-year record of 27–30.

Preseason

OVC media poll

On July 20, 2018, the media covering the OVC released their preseason poll with the Panthers predicted to finish in fifth place.[2] On July 23, the OVC released their coaches poll with the Panthers predicted to finish in fourth place.[3]

Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Jacksonville State 134 (14)
2 Austin Peay 114 (1)
3 UT Martin 96
4 Tennessee State 91
5 Eastern Illinois 83
6 Eastern Kentucky 64
7 Murray State 39
8 Southeast Missouri State 35
9 Tennessee Tech 19
Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Jacksonville State 126 (14)
2 Austin Peay 112 (4)
3 UT Martin 95
4 Eastern Illinois 73
5 Eastern Kentucky 69
6 Tennessee State 64
7 Southeast Missouri State 62
8 Murray State 24
9 Tennessee Tech 23

Preseason All-OVC team

The Panthers had three players selected to the preseason all-OVC team.[4]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 13:00 p.m.at Arkansas*
SECNL 20–5563,342
September 86:30 p.m.at No. 19 Illinois State*
NBCSC+L 10–488,914
September 156:00 p.m.Indiana State*
ESPN+L 41–556,420
September 222:00 p.m.Tennessee State
  • O'Brien Field
  • Charleston, IL
ESPN+L 40–417,670
September 296:00 p.m.at Tennessee Tech
ESPN+W 52–387,184
October 66:00 p.m.Murray State
  • O'Brien Field
  • Charleston, IL
ESPN+L 41–483,063
October 133:00 p.m.at No. 8 Jacksonville State
ESPN3L 22–4915,649
October 202:00 p.m.UT Martindagger
  • O'Brien Field
  • Charleston, IL
ESPN3W 24–21 OT7,413
October 2712:00 p.m.at Eastern Kentucky
ESPN+L 23–314,400
November 101:00 p.m.Austin Peay
  • O'Brien Field
  • Charleston, IL
ESPN+W 52–212,149
November 171:00 p.m.at No. 23 Southeast Missouri State
ESPN+L 32–383,987
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Game summaries

At Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 0 6 7 7 20
Razorbacks 10 28 10 7 55

See also: 2018 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

At Illinois State

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 0 0 10 0 10
No. 19 Redbirds 7 21 10 10 48

See also: 2018 Illinois State Redbirds football team and Mid-America Classic

Indiana State

1 2 3 4 Total
Sycamores 17 14 14 10 55
Panthers 20 0 7 14 41

See also: 2018 Indiana State Sycamores football team

Tennessee State

1 2 3 4 Total
Tigers 0 13 13 15 41
Panthers 17 7 7 9 40

See also: 2018 Tennessee State Tigers football team

At Tennessee Tech

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 7 14 10 21 52
Golden Eagles 10 0 7 21 38

See also: 2018 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football team

Murray State

1 2 3 4 Total
Racers 10 14 14 10 48
Panthers 7 10 17 7 41

See also: 2018 Murray State Racers football team

At Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 3 6 0 13 22
No. 8 Gamecocks 14 7 14 14 49

See also: 2018 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team

UT Martin

1 2 3 4OT Total
Skyhawks 7 7 0 70 21
Panthers 0 7 14 03 24

See also: 2018 UT Martin Skyhawks football team

At Eastern Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 10 7 0 6 23
Colonels 3 7 7 14 31

See also: 2018 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

Austin Peay

1 2 3 4 Total
Governors 0 7 7 7 21
Panthers 14 21 3 14 52

See also: 2018 Austin Peay Governors football team

At Southeast Missouri State

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 7 0 10 15 32
No. 23 Redhawks 10 7 3 18 38

See also: 2018 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football team

References

  1. ^ "Dameron fired as Eastern football coach".
  2. ^ "Media Pollsters Tab Jacksonville State as 2018 OVC Football Preseason Favorites".
  3. ^ "Jacksonville State Picked as 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Football Favorites".
  4. ^ "SEMO's Terry, JSU's Bridges Named OVC Preseason Football Players of the Year".
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