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The Eastern Illinois Panthers are playing their first game in 463 days when they host Southeast Missouri State RedHawks. This is the biggest gap in between football games for Eastern Illinois since (1942-1944) which was 686 days because of World War II. The Panthers are going to be hosting four out of its seven games at home this spring season.
Southeast Missouri State RedHawks played their first game 121 days ago against Southern Illinois. The RedHawks lost their first game on a 27-yard field goal as time expired. This game will count towards the 2020-2021 season record and will be used by the committee when they select the 16-team playoff.
Southeast Missouri State RedHawks vs Eastern Illinois Panthers Head-to-Head | FCS Football
The Southeast Missouri State RedHawks and Eastern Illinois Panthers are set to meet for the 28th time. Eastern Illinois leads the overall head-to-head record (18-9) and will look to push their lead to double digits on Sunday. The RedHawks got the best of the Panthers in their last meeting in 2019 winning 26-12.
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Before Southeast Missouri State defeated Eastern Illinois in 2019, they had lost back-to-back games against the Panthers on the road. The Eastern Illinois Panthers have gotten the best of the RedHawks in the last eight meetings. The Panthers have gone (5-3) in the last eight games against the RedHawks.
Southeast Missouri State RedHawks vs Eastern Illinois Panthers Team News | FCS Football
Southeast Missouri State RedHawks:
Southeast Missouri State RedHawks had 17 players on their roster that saw their first action against Southern Illinois. The RedHawks offense saw three players make their first start and their defense had one first time starter. Southeast Missouri State's quarterback started his first college football game against Southern Illinois.
The RedHawks are being led into their spring season by head coach Tom Matukewicz. Matukewicz leads by the (L.E.A.D) motto which break sdown to Love, Effort, Attitude, and Discipline. He has instilled this into the RedHawks football program throughout his seven years that he has spent with the team.
Since becoming head coach, Tom Matukewicz has led the RedHawks defense to a top two finish in either red zone defense, sacks, turnover margin, third down defense or interceptions. This led to Southeast Missouri State's defense ranking 20th in the nation in interceptions in 2019 with (14).
Southeast Missouri State RedHawks are on the rise finding themselves in the NCAA FCS Playoffs in back-to-back seasons. They hosted their first playoff game in eight years during the 2018 season. The future looks bright for the RedHawks and it will be interesting to see how their meeting with Eastern Illinois turns out on Sunday.
Eastern Illinois Panthers:
The Eastern Illinois Panthers are entering a season that consists of the least amount of games they have played in a season since 1945. The Panthers are going through a rebuilding stage under head coach Adam Cushing. Eastern Illinois finished the 2019 season with a record of (1-11).
When looking at the Eastern Illinois Panthers roster, they have returning two all conference players one on offense and one on defesne. Dytarious Johnson was selected to the All-Ohio Valley Conference preseason football team. Johnson is a force on the Panthers defensive front seven.
Isaiah Hill will also be named to the preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team. Hill was a big contributor to the Panthers offense leading all wide receivers in yards in 2019. Having both players coming back for the spring season will give the Panthers a good boost on both offense and defense.
The long wait for the spring season is over as of Sunday. Eastern Illinois saw their first game of the spring season postponed due to the winter weather storm that hit last week. The Panthers were scheduled to play UT-Martin, but that game is now scheduled for March 7th.
Southeast Missouri State RedHawks vs Eastern Illinois Panthers Projected Starters | FCS Football
Southeast Missouri State RedHawks:
QB: Andrew Bunch
RB: Zion Curtis
WR: Johnny King, Zack Smith, Pervis Frazier
TE: Austin Crump
Eastern Illinois Panthers:
QB: Henry Woodbery
RB: Jaelin Benefield
WR: Matt Reyna, DeWayne Cooks Jr, Tyler Hamilton
TE: Jay Vallie
Southeast Missouri State RedHawks vs Eastern Illinois Panthers Predictions | FCS Football
With the Eastern Illinois Panthers going through a rebuilding process and finishing the 2019 season with a (1-11) record. It is hard to think that they will be able to turn around their football team in one year. Southeast Missouri State RedHawks are coming of back-to-back trips to the playoffs. The RedHawks will use their defense to control the football game and move one step closer to tying the overall head-to-head record.
Prediction: Southeast Missouri State 34, Eastern Illinois 17
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