EKU 2005 Football schedule released

[colonelblitz]

I'm thinking road trip to NCST..Been a few years since I visited Raleigh.


Eastern Kentucky Football Releases 2005 Schedule



Richmond, Ky. - A September trip to North Carolina State highlights the 2005 Eastern Kentucky University football schedule, which was released today by head coach Danny Hope. In search of their 28th-consecutive winning season, the Colonels will take on NC State, Western Kentucky and Appalachian State, in addition to the full Ohio Valley Conference slate.

“For the third year in-a-row, we feel like we have put together a great schedule which features some of the top teams in the country and will be one of most competitive in I-AA football,” said Hope. “The North Carolina State game is a big deal for this University because it not only generates some revenue but will be good for recruiting. I think we’ve proven that we are a football program with great fan support that really travels well, and that makes us more marketable to teams looking for non-conference opponents.”

The Colonels will have five home games at Roy Kidd Stadium this season, including their season opener against Appalachian State on Sept. 3 and the 2005 Homecoming Game with Tennessee Tech on Sept. 24. Eastern’s bout with the Mountaineers will be the first of three non-conference games to start the year, none of which will be played against Division-II teams.

“We feel like this schedule gives us an opportunity to return to the playoffs in one of two ways,” said Hope. “Our first goal is to get in by winning the Ohio Valley Conference championship. But if for some reason we stub our toe along the way, the level of competition we will be playing this year should provide us a stepping stone into the playoffs as long as we take care of business.”

Eastern follows its season opener with the Mountaineers by heading to Bowling Green, Ky., for the 2005 “Battle of the Bluegrass” against Western Kentucky on Sept. 10. The Hilltoppers advanced to the I-AA playoffs for the fifth-consecutive year last season and finished with a 9-3 record and No. 11 national ranking. This year’s game will be the 82nd meeting between the two schools and Eastern’s first trip to L.T. Smith Stadium since the two teams met on Sept. 20, 2003, when the oldest rivalry in Kentucky resumed after a two-year hiatus.

Following its Sept. 17th trip to Raleigh, N.C. to face North Carolina State, EKU will kick off the OVC season with its 2005 Homecoming Game against Tennessee Tech.

“Our Homecoming Game is a lot earlier than it has been in past years, but we think the warmer weather will give us a great chance to pack the house and have a huge gate,” said Hope. “With the game being so early in the year, there should be a lot of enthusiasm, especially against a long standing conference-foe like Tennessee Tech. I know our fans will circle this game on their calendars.”

EKU opens October with a road game against the defending OVC-Champion Jacksonville State Gamecocks. JSU is one of two I-AA playoff teams Eastern will face this season (along with WKU). The Colonels will alternate between home and away games for the rest of the season, with their final home game coming against Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 12. EKU then closes out the regular season at Tennessee State on Nov. 19.

2005 EKU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Sept. 3 APPALACHIAN STATE tba
Sept. 10 at Western Kentucky TBA
Sept. 17 at North Carolina State TBA
Sept. 24 TENNESSEE TECH* (HC) TBA
Oct. 1 at Jacksonville State* TBA
Oct. 8 SAMFORD* TBA
Oct. 15 at Eastern Illinois* TBA
Oct. 22 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI* TBA
Nov. 5 at Murray State* TBA
Nov. 12 UT-MARTIN* TBA
Nov. 19 at Tennessee State TBA
* - denotes Ohio Valley Conference gameHomes games are listed in all CAPS All times will be released at a later date.




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[Hansel]

That's a tough opening, the OVC may seem a bit easy compared to the first three games.

[JaxSinfonian]

Some of the OVC schedule might feel easier to the Colonels, but probably not the first few games.

They open with T-Tech, who they scraped past with a 4th-quarter field goal last year, 19-18. Then EKU travels to defending conference champs Jax State, and I still don't think these Kentucky Colonels have figured out how to fry chicken. Even Samford, their next opponent, might be a tough game for them this year, though the Bulldogs will be without the dynamic duo of Hill & Nelson. EKU slipped past Samford 39-36 in double overtime last year.

They'll need to survive that tough non-conference schedule with as few injuries as possible, or they could be out of the OVC race pretty quick.

[Tribe4SF]

That's a rough OOC. Looks like an 0-3 start to me.

[Eagle_77]

It’s tough for a team to get excited after a 0-3 start. The wind may be knocked out of these guys if the do start 0-3 and they could play the rest of the season under their true potential.

[bluehenbillk]

The only way they make the playoffs is winning the OVC.

[Mr. C]

Sat 9/6/2003 Appalachian State at Eastern Ky, Eastern Ky 35-7
We might see what EKU and ASU are made of that first weekend. ASU waxed them 49-21 last year in Boone after getting stomped in 2003 at EKU.

Appalachian State has dominated the recent series with EKU. The 2003 game (coming off ASU's brutal trip to Hawaii the previous weekend) is EKU's only win in the years since I've been covering ASU. This indeed is a very tough schedule out of conference, but that's the way Danny Hope likes it. I talked to Shawn Clark, the former All-American lineman from ASU and now one of Hope's coaches, a couple of weeks ago and Shawn thinks that the Colonels will be very good this year. So the OVC had better watch out.

[colonelblitz]

It’s tough for a team to get excited after a 0-3 start. The wind may be knocked out of these guys if the do start 0-3 and they could play the rest of the season under their true potential.


Normally I would agree .. but not these guys.. They play tough reguardless..

[Golden Eagle]

Tough schedule, an 0-4 start appears eminent.

[Saint3333]

Only 0 for whatever if ASU can find a way to win on the road...