Illinois State @ Eastern Illinois

[BigApp]

Discuss

[redbirdtim]

Birds got down early vs EIU, much like they did against a lot of other teams in that time span, but once the Rembert Express got running, we played a lot better.

We also didn't have L-Rob in that game. I don't think EIU has anyone that can match-up with L-Rob. They also showed they couldn't cover Pierre Jackson, he torched them for 6 catches and a buck 32 with two TDs. Now they have to cover both L-Rob and Jackson...

If we air it out vs EIU, could be a long day for the Panthers. If they can pick off Drone like UNI did yesterday, it could be a long day for us. Rembert and Webb cancelled each other out last game...that could be another factor who is running better out of those two.

[JaxSinfonian]

In any playoff rematch, I like the chances of the team that lost the regular-season constest. I don't know if history bears out my thinking, but it's gotta be a great motivating factor.

Nice day for the OVC. Both our representatives are facing Gateway teams ... very appropriate. Winning one or both of these really helps put the OVC back on the map.

[Saluki_man]

IL St is on the road and not playing all that well right now, going to be tough to go into Charlston and win a playoff game.

[Retro]

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL95/5192267/12523693/206242316.jpg

[Panthers_Blue]

Like I have always been told "It's hard to beat a team twice"......


Go Blue

[ISUMatt]

we beat you without L-ROB, we will win with him

[Chucktown]

We shall see---
We also have our other quarterback playing, with half of the season under his belt. Our other quarterback started against ISU during the regular season, and he threw 3 pics in the first half.

This game will come down to who makes the least mistakes. And that will hopefully be ISU..

Happy to be in the playoffs, and couldn't be happier with the opponent, and the site

[FlyYtown]

Illinois State wins by 17.. and hopefully returns to Youngstown for what would be as big, if not bigger than the JMU-YSU Matchup!

[shakdaddy3]

kind of surprised it's @ EIU... should be a great game.. both teams are probably a little different than the first match up and muched improved...

[nmatsen]

How in the he!! does EIU continually get home games????????

Last year against Southern, this year against ISU. I remember in 2001 we lost to a 9-2 Iowa State team and IL State on the road. We had to go to EIU in the first round. They got the 4 seed that year with 2-DII wins. We had 1 D-II win and a I-A win and the sent us packing!

[JaxSinfonian]

How in the he!! does EIU continually get home games????????

It's got nothing to do with wins, quality or not. EIU apparently is willing to spend what it takes to get games at home. Simple enough.

[Old Cat Fan]

One serious question how many schools playing Div I I-AA in this state, I can't keep up with all this EIU SIU WIU ISU stuff it makes a guy from a 2 team state (NH) dizzy..

[ISUMatt]

1pm Central kickoff

[EIU86]

I give EIU's athletic department credit for doing what they can to get a home game as we have a very limited budget. I think they also knew both this year and last year that if we got a home game that there would be a good chance it would be against another Illinois team that would bring a good crowd to help defer the cost of hosting.

There will probably be as many ISU fans as EIU fans at the game as students are home. Last year there were as many SIU fans as EIU fans. I wish it wasn't the case, but it is. We rely heavily on students. Too many Illini fans in the area.

[ISUMatt]

I give EIU's athletic department credit for doing what they can to get a home game as we have a very limited budget. I think they also knew both this year and last year that if we got a home game that there would be a good chance it would be against another Illinois team that would bring a good crowd to help defer the cost of hosting.

There will probably be as many ISU fans as EIU fans at the game as students are home. Last year there were as many SIU fans as EIU fans. I wish it wasn't the case, but it is. We rely heavily on students. Too many Illini fans in the area.

EIU drew 1226 yesterday and the NCAA feels they should get a home game...You already agree that ISU will bring as many if not more people as you and say that SIU outdrew you practicallty last yr, but yet the NCAA feels you should be home...CRAZY!!!! Rumor also has it your bid was slightly more than ours...you will draw 4000, we could have drawn 12,000, CRAZY!!! Not EIUs fault, I commend your AD for spending the cash when our AD said he would do everything possible.. Just ranting

[JMU2K_DukeDawg]

How in the he!! does EIU continually get home games????????

Last year against Southern, this year against ISU. I remember in 2001 we lost to a 9-2 Iowa State team and IL State on the road. We had to go to EIU in the first round. They got the 4 seed that year with 2-DII wins. We had 1 D-II win and a I-A win and the sent us packing!

The same way Hampton gets them...:rolleyes:

[EIU86]

I agree the bidding process is stupid, doesn't the NCAA have enough money. I would also seed the teams 1-16 and the 8 highest seeds would get home games.

I always cringe when EIU's last home game is the last game of the year as the students are gone. I always feel sorry for the seniors who have to play in front of a crowd that small.

I wish more people would come out to the game, but it is a small area to draw from and close to Champaign. I know ISU is just as close to Champaign, but B-N is obviously much bigger than Charleston and more grads stay in town because of more jobs (State Farm, etc.). I have always been suprised that ISU doesn't have bigger crowds than it does as it is nearly twice the size of EIU. I know crowds at ISU were better this year though.

[UTMFan21]

Do the students not care enough about their team to come back a couple days early? I will definitely be heading up to Southern Illinois for the UTM game!

[Panthers_Blue]

Were going to get the Blue Crew out for this game!!!!!

I'm sorry but I think EIU has what it takes this time around.

[Redbird Fan 21]

One serious question how many schools playing Div I I-AA in this state, I can't keep up with all this EIU SIU WIU ISU stuff it makes a guy from a 2 team state (NH) dizzy..

Those are the I-AA teams in IL. Eastern, Western, Southern, and ISU. Northern, U of I, and Northwestern are the I-A teams...

[ISUMatt]

that is correct

[Panthers_Blue]

You guys saw Donato, and he wont be playing Sat. Stinson will who has done a much better job. The line gives him plenty of time to hit Mobley, Voss or the most athletic man on the field this coming Sat. Rucker deep. Mix it with Webb Jr. on the ground I think ISU's D will be ran down. EIU is clicking right now and they are rolling in to the postseason with a lot of steam.

I don't see a blow-out, but a slugfest. Who cares about stats for this game throw the paper out. This will be a good brawl who ever makes the fewer mistakes will win.

[Old Cat Fan]

Those are the I-AA teams in IL. Eastern, Western, Southern, and ISU. Northern, U of I, and Northwestern are the I-A teams...
Thank you, must be nice to have so many teams from one state in the Championship series :thumbsup:

[crunifan]

Go Redbirds. Show them that there is only one team worthy of the Panther name, and EIU is not it!

Go Gateway! :hurray:

[ISUMatt]

Id bet the red outnumbers the Blue in the stands Saturday!!

[skinny_uncle]

One serious question how many schools playing Div I I-AA in this state, I can't keep up with all this EIU SIU WIU ISU stuff it makes a guy from a 2 team state (NH) dizzy..
Only 3 of them made the playoffs. It could have been worse.
:nod:

[Chucktown]

This is going to be a very exciting game for both EIU and ISU. For example, EIU's seniors have played ISU 4 times, and have lost 4 times. EIU had control of their game earlier in the season, but some interceptions, and long pass plays took them out. The score (44-30) did not show how close the game actually was, and ISU fans were probably very happy to see the EIU game pass with a victory. (I'm sure all of EIU's players remember Denver running the ball into the endzone with 15 seconds left, when a knee could've been taken. This should come out to be a much more exciting game than people are expecting.
As an fan of EIU, I do not think many of us were expecting to have a home game, but we'll take it. Definately better to have ISU at home than to be sent off to the ice palace, or montana.
Will be looking forward to seeing this one.
Which weapons will be able to break lose?
ISU has a good q, 2 exceptional receivers, and a great running back.
EIU has good up and coming q, 2 good running backs, and 2 really good receivers.
They match up very well, and could get interesting.
EIU avg. 200 rushing yards a game, ISU letting up 150.
ISU letting up 200 passing-
EIU def. has been dominating during conference play(but we know no one respects the OVC, which EIU and tenn-martin are both out to prove people wrong)

Interested to see the game plans, and who excecutes theirs more often.
Mistakes are going to lose this game, so I hope EIU makes fewer.--

(I also hope EIU gets more fans out for this year's playoff game than last year, because SIU had as many fans as we did last year. But there are many out there who love this rivalry, so I dont think I'll be disappointed)

[shakdaddy3]

the most athletic man on the field this coming Sat. Rucker deep.

are you serious? i think you are forgetting about reigning gateway offensive player of the year, all-american, all-everything WR Laurent Robinson... when Rucker has 80+ receptions and 1400+ yards in a season, is an all-american or a walter payton award finalst, then you can say he's the most athletic guy on the field...

L-Rob played in 7 games and really only played 5 full games since he sat out the 4th qtr of Murray State and played in only the 1st qtr of Western Kentucky...

[ISUMatt]

There are more fans in that pic of Rucker at ISU than EIU had at last weekends game...The Red is coming to invade Charleston!!!

[JaxSinfonian]

A quick scan of the stats:

A fairly balanced attack from EIU against an Ill. State team that seems to favor the pass and puts a lot of targets out there for Drone.

EIU's defense does well against the run, not nearly as well against the pass, and the only quality I-AA passing team they've seen all year is ... Ill. St. Teams got more yards through the air on ISU than they did on the ground. Both squads were middle-of-the-pack for total defense in their respective leagues.

Both were league leaders in turnover margin ... EIU at +11, ISU at +9. Special teams seem to be a wash, as well.

ISU looks to have an edge in this game with their passing attack. EIU may be able to bottle up Rembert but their secondary will be winded by the end of the day. EIU is coming off three straight wins, ISU dropped their last game to UNI. Stinson will make for a much different Panther offense than the Redbirds saw earlier this season. I think that, plus the fact EIU plays at home and has the revenge factor going for them may make this a close one. I'm not ready to make a call yet, but I think it's a touchdown or less.

[EIUsuperfan]

Should be a good game. EIU is playing its best football of the year right now. Despite a horrible first half against JSU. Look for Stinson to throw early to hopefully get an early lead. The defense is much improved since the first game against ISU; they have learned how to play without All-American linebacker Clint Sellers who went down on the opening kick-off of the season against UofI. Granted the secondary is weak, but look for Ben Brown and Terrance Sanders to make some big plays down field and hopefully shut down Laurent Robinson. If the front four can get pressure on Drone, and EIU comes out and gets and early lead, I look for EIU to win by 10. Hopefully, the apathetic fans will get a fire lit under their asses and come out and support EIU. GO BIG BLUE!!!!!!

[Pantherpower]

Illinois State is going to run EIU off the field Saturday. It won't be close. The time is upon us that the selection committee, if they had any guts, would lay it down and say:

"If a representative from your conference hasn't won a playoff game in the past 7 years (or whatever it is in the MEAC, OVC, etc.), the NCAA reserves the right to pull the autobid from your conference because you have proven you can't compete with other conferences in CS"

The fact that sorry azzed Hampton got a seed last year just about made me puke. How the hell can you justify two teams from the OVfreakin'C in the field when they haven't collectively won a playoff game in YEARS???????

[EIUsuperfan]

Don't be a poor sport. If UNI hadn't lost to WIU and a D-II school you would have been selected. The OVC is getting better. UT-Martin, EIU and Jacksonville State are all quality programs. We'll just see after the first round. The OVC may knock off two Gateway Teams.

[Reed Rothchild]

IL ST by 21

[Reed Rothchild]

Don't be a poor sport. If UNI hadn't lost to WIU and a D-II school you would have been selected. The OVC is getting better. UT-Martin, EIU and Jacksonville State are all quality programs. We'll just see after the first round. The OVC may knock off two Gateway Teams.

But Montana St got SMOKED by UC-Davis and a DII school. And how many playoff teams did EIU beat?

[Peems]

is tony romo gonna be playing?

[Pantherpower]

is tony romo gonna be playing?

Hell, it wouldn't matter if he was. EIU couldn't beat UNI at home WITH Romo in '01. Not being a poor sport either. It's simply hard to argue with facts and that the fact is, no OVC or MEAC teams have proven that they can compete with superior CS conferences in years.

[JaxSinfonian]

Hell, it wouldn't matter if he was. EIU couldn't beat UNI at home WITH Romo in '01. Not being a poor sport either. It's simply hard to argue with facts and that the fact is, no OVC or MEAC teams have proven that they can compete with superior CS conferences in years.
Pantherpower, you're really taking the committee's snub hard, aren't you? I suggest you shut down the computer and sleep it off. Your Panthers can try again next year.

You want the NCAA to penalize teams for what some other teams in their conference have or haven't done in previous years? Gimmie a break.

How about his reform instead: Rather than eight auto-bids and eight at-large teams, the committee can take all eight Gateway teams and then the best of the rest. Would that satisfy you?

[Reed Rothchild]

Not to mention that they got beat BADLY by a TERRIBLE Illinois team.

Ok, here are some SOLID EIU facts against the GFC this year:

BARELY beat last place Gateway team Indiana St. Didn't take the lead until halfway into the 3rd qtr and still had to fight off the Trees the rest of the way.

Got SMOKED by Illinois St who did not have their best offensive player in Laurent Robinson. The same team UNI just beat last week with Laurent Robinson.

[Chucktown]

Not to mention that they got beat BADLY by a TERRIBLE Illinois team.

Ok, here are some SOLID EIU facts against the GFC this year:

BARELY beat last place Gateway team Indiana St. Didn't take the lead until halfway into the 3rd qtr and still had to fight off the Trees the rest of the way.

Got SMOKED by Illinois St who did not have their best offensive player in Laurent Robinson. The same team UNI just beat last week with Laurent Robinson.

OKAY, ISU scored with a little over a minute remaining in the game, otherwise it was 37-30. Denver thought it would be nice for later down the year to have won by 14, instead of taking a kneee up 7. So that was not as large of a margin of victory as you might think.
But we will see. Save the told ya so's for next week, not this one-
Should be an exciting game---
(and you are probably sighing right now saying that the Gateway will smoke the horrible OVC, but I'm sure that ISU wished they were playing somewhere else.)

[Reed Rothchild]

I'm sure Ill St is very comfortable playing in Charleston. Especially at that stadium where there will only be about 5K for the game who will have no impact whatsoever.

[ISUMatt]

What you fail to remember is that ISU had their nd string O-Line in and 3rd string RB in that ran for that late TD...Now do you take a knee or let some guys that rarely play, play...If you dont want to be scored on, dont give up a 25 yard TD run to 2nd and 3rd stringers!

[crunifan]

I think the Redbirds handle the fake blue Panthers easy. Take care of business Illinois State!

[EIU86]

I've got a load of crying towels on the way to Cedar Falls for you UNI fans.

[crunifan]

I've got a load of crying towels on the way to Cedar Falls for you UNI fans.

What does this have to do with us not making it?

I am supporting a fellow Gateway member as well as taking the opportunity to make fun of another school that chooses the same mascot as us.

I've got the book "How to interpret jokes" on the way to Charleston for you Eastern Illinois fans.

[EIUsuperfan]

Not to mention that they got beat BADLY by a TERRIBLE Illinois team.

Ok, here are some SOLID EIU facts against the GFC this year:

BARELY beat last place Gateway team Indiana St. Didn't take the lead until halfway into the 3rd qtr and still had to fight off the Trees the rest of the way.

Got SMOKED by Illinois St who did not have their best offensive player in Laurent Robinson. The same team UNI just beat last week with Laurent Robinson.

Ok here we go. At Illinois Clint Sellers went out on the opening kick-off. He was favored to win the Buchannan this year. Our defense did not know how to play without a player of that calliber. He played both OLB and MLB. Anyway, we did not get smoked b Ill. St. it was 44-30. The last touchdown was scored when the ball should have been downed and we had our last string in on defense and a freshman safety blew his coverage and they ran the last touchdown in. And when UNI beats the teams they should, maybe they will get in. At least Eastern won the games they should have.

[Redbird Fan 21]

The main reason that Denver decided to run a play with 14 seconds left was because he has tried to take a knee twice. The 1st time ISU had a delay of game penalty. The 2nd time one of the o-lineman moved and we had a fall start so O-Coordinator Fuente and Denver said screw it and ran a play. That play just happened to be a TD. It was not to rub it in in any ways... you would have noticed that if you were at the game or even listened to it!!!

[PantherRob82]

I'm sure the crowd in Charleston will be crazy like usual. xlolx

[saluki_in_ohio]

Illinois State will be able to handle EIU pretty easily.

My prediction:

ISU 40
EIU 14

[hawkeye]

How in the he!! does EIU continually get home games????????

Last year against Southern, this year against ISU. I remember in 2001 we lost to a 9-2 Iowa State team and IL State on the road. We had to go to EIU in the first round. They got the 4 seed that year with 2-DII wins. We had 1 D-II win and a I-A win and the sent us packing!

Edited for smack...

Keep the name calling on the smack board...We dont appreciate new posters (or veteran ones) calling people names around here

[crunifan]

I'm sorry, that is hilarious to me. So pathetic... xlolx

[windwalker]

Thank you, must be nice to have so many teams from one state in the Championship series :thumbsup:

Look at South Carolina..
Furman, Wofford, Citidal, Charleston Southern, Sc State, Coastal Carolina and next year PC... For a small state, that is quite a few.

[Panthers_Blue]

Three and half days till kick-off........ This is going to be awsome!!

It's time for everyone to see what EIU is all about!

[PantherRob82]

Three and half days till kick-off........ This is going to be awsome!!

It's time for everyone to see what EIU is all about!

Hopefully it's that same thing they were about in 2001 when we came to Charleston. xlolx xlolx

[redbirdtim]

EIU fans can be cheesed off against ISU and DJ all they want for running that play. Matt gave the reasoning why, and it was like we ran outside or threw a pass. Your guys up the gut couldn't stop our 3rd string.

Also, where did you see that Sellers was the favorite for the Buck, I must have missed that article. I saw that Cam was on the ballot all year, but I guess I didn't see the article on Sellers.

Also, we will have Laurent back...a healthier Laurent than he was at UNI and closer to what he was at KSU. I don't think EIU can stop the combo of him and Jackson, and I don't think they will hold Rembert under 100. If EIU does, I think it's at the expense of 120 or more from L-Rob or Jelly Jackson.

I put it at 35-24 ISU with a lot of Red in the stands.

[Panthers_Blue]

Sellers in fact was a preseason favorite for the Buck.

[redbirdtim]

A preseason top 10 choice...maybe.

"At Illinois Clint Sellers went out on the opening kick-off. He was favored to win the Buchannan this year. Our defense did not know how to play without a player of that calliber. He played both OLB and MLB. "

:rolleyes:
Favored to win it, very far from the truth.

[EIUsuperfan]

A preseason top 10 choice...maybe.

"At Illinois Clint Sellers went out on the opening kick-off. He was favored to win the Buchannan this year. Our defense did not know how to play without a player of that calliber. He played both OLB and MLB. "

:rolleyes:
Favored to win it, very far from the truth.

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/stat/IAA-pre-06-team.htm

I see Sellers was a first team pre-season All American and Siskowic was second. Had he not gotten injured I'm sure he and Siskowic would both have been finalists.

[*****]

I see Sellers was a first team pre-season All American and Siskowic was second. Had he not gotten injured I'm sure he and Siskowic would both have been finalists.http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=79647

While Sellers was pre-season AA, he was third team and Siskowic was first team. In fact EIU's Brown and Burge were second team so I think saying Sellers was the favorite to win the Buck is way off base. I hope Clint is doing well, I was there to see him injured.

[Chucktown]

this is all gettin a little off... I'm sure all he was tryin to say, is the heart and soul of EIU's defense got taken out the first play of the season. (preseason whatever) Its taken a lot out of those guys to rally around each other losing someone like that.
We all wish Clint the best-

[Skyhawk Nation 24]

Goodluck EIU, I hope you guys come up with a better gameplan then you guys brought to Martin. I thought if you guys would of opened the passing game up, you would have easily won the game, instead you stuck with the run, which was being successful but our defense had a bend but don't break mentality. So throw to those big recievers make the defense respect the passing game and then thunder and lightning can run all day long.

[EIUsuperfan]

Thanks UTM. Yeah we should have passed more. I think our WR's were about a foot taller than your DB's. But anyway you guys are a good team and both of us should have two tough games. ISU and SIU are really good teams, but if EIU and UTM bring their A game and the right game plan I think both can pull off a big win. Hopefully then we will get some respect. Ha.

[Chucktown]

its gonna be a high scoring game..... 2 high powered offenses, and 2 defenses that let up numbers... should be exciting

[redbirdtim]

There was a segment in the paper today about the game, as there has been every day.

Two interesting points...

ISU will have the nations #4 tackler (Kye Stewart) that they didn't have for the 1st EIU game. A lot of people focus on L-Rob being out, but Kye is a very, very good LB.

Second, one of EIUs defensive players made a good point on the late touchdown that ISU scored: EIU called a blitz. Now if EIU is just wanting to run the clock out, why are they calling blitzes? If you're going to do that, we should have been trying to score (note that we weren't trying to score and as seen in many other games we've played, we've called the dogs off early-watch the MSU game tape-we ran the ball up the middle most plays for over a quarter to run the clock down). So, due to that statement from one of your own, I really don't want to here any more complaining. We didn't try to score, you just blitzed and our RB wasn't going to take a knee once he broke past your guys. If we're trying to run up the score, we're going to throw to L-Rob or Jelly, not call runs up the gut. And don't think if you had a guy running up the gut like that, that he would stop and be like "oh, I could score a TD, something I don't get a lot of opportunities to do, but wait, I should just stop and take a knee because the other teams defense couldn't stop me."

Second part sounds harsh, but I am sick and tired of hearing that.

[EIU86]

Who cares if ISU scored late in the game. EIU had no chance to win the game if ISU took a knee as the Panthers were out of timeouts. It really wasn't that smart a play by ISU but it worked out for them. It was a pretty evenly contested game, but the teams are much different. EIU has a better quarterback and has learned to play without Clint Sellers and ISU has some good players healthy that didn't play in the first game.

ISU is probably a little better and would probably win 7-8 out of 10, but I think EIU is capable of winning if they play well and don't turn the ball over.

[redbirdtim]

That's probably a correct assumption 86 that ISU would win 7-8 times out of 10...will this be one of them is the question.

To answer why we didn't take a knee is the problems we had the first two times we took one. I guess they figured might as well just run it up the gut and run the clock out that way because had they tried again, with our luck, we would have fumbled.

[EIUsuperfan]

Should be a good game! Hope to see you guys there! Good luck "redbirdtim".

[redbirdtim]

Thanks superfan,

I'm not going to wish you guys luck because you don't need it. Any team talented enough to make the playoffs has a shot at winning if they play their best. EIU is a very good program, great tradition, and a great showing in the NFL, which has to be good for recruiting. The team that goes out and executes the best will win. I will however hope that no team suffers any major injuries. I know that bumps and bruises are part of the game and no amount or hope or wishes will prevent that; however, major injuries (injuries that would prevent play) are a different story.

I look forward to the trip to Charleston and hopefully the stadium becomes Hancock Stadium East. I know there is a large Redbird contingent going to the game, and hopefully, there is a good sized Panther crowd (much bigger than last year I hope).

Here's to a great football game tomorrow in a rivalry between two good schools!

[EIUsuperfan]

Thanks. I love playing you guys and believe it or not I like a large visiting crowd. Despite being evenly numbered(or outnumbered) last year with SIU, it was still the loudest EIU fans we had had all year. So here is to a well played game and like you said...no injuries. I'll be there with a blue mask, blue hair, and an throwback EIU jersey..maybe I'll run in to you. Have a safe trip and GO BIG BLUE!!!!

[ISUMatt]

any word on the crowd you guys will have?

[EIUsuperfan]

Hard to say. Hopefully pretty good. I hope better than last year. EIU is not the best at marketing their sports, so we'll see. What about you guys?

[redbirdtim]

As for crowd, we'll have a full band and my estimate would be about 1,000-1,500 Redbirds. If we didn't have a team in the state title game, could have been more. However, I have heard that a lot of those people will try and make the ISU game.