EIU Climbs to No. 15, Oct. 29 Game Part of ESPN3 Package

Eastern Illinois rallied from down 17-3 early in the first half on Saturday night at Tennessee Tech to head home with a 30-24 road victory as the Panthers improved to 5-2, 3-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference.  That tough road win coupled with a few losses by teams around EIU in the national rankings allowed the Panthers to climb to No. 15 in all three polls released Monday afternoon.

 The Panthers will look to lock up their second consecutive winning season and fourth winning campaign in the last five seasons when they host Murray State on Saturday afternoon.  The Panthers annual homecoming game will kickoff at 1 p.m.   Tickets are available by calling 217-581-2106.

 With a few upsets in the top ten including former No. 1 North Dakota State falling to South Dakota State, a new number one emerged in all three polls with Sam Houston State climbing to No. 1 with its 6-0 record.   Jacksonville State was number two in all three polls followed by Eastern Washington and North Dakota State.   Sam Houston State is one of two remaining undefeated FCS schools.  The Citadel which jumped to number five in two of the three polls is the other undefeated team also at 6-0.

 The STATS FCS Media Poll Top 25 was led by Sam Houston State, Jacksonville State, Eastern Washington, North Dakota State, The Citadel, Richmond, South Dakota State, James Madison, Charleston Southern and Montana in the top ten.  Chattanooga which was knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten last week was 11th followed by Western Illinois, Youngstown State, North Carolina A&T, Eastern Illinois, Villanova, Cal Poly, Coastal Carolina, North Dakota and Central Arkansas.  The final five ranked schools in the STATS FCS Media Top 25 were Samford, Grambling State, Albany, Stony Brook and Tennessee State.

 The FCS Coaches Top 25 had Sam Houston State, Jacksonville State, Eastern Washington and North Dakota State as the top four schools with all receiving at least one first place vote.  James Madison was fifth followed by The Citadel, Richmond, Chattanooga, Charleston Southern and Montana in the top ten.  South Dakota State was 11th after knocking off No. 1 North Dakota State.  Youngstown State was 12th with Western Illinois, North Carolina A&T, Eastern Illinois, North Dakota, Villanova, Cal Poly, Central Arkansas and Samford in the top twenty.  The final five ranked schools in the FCS Coaches Top 25 included Grambling State, Stony Brook, Harvard, Albany and Tennessee State.

 In the HERO Sports Media Top 25 Sam Houston State, Jacksonville State, Eastern Washington, North Dakota State, The Citadel and Richmond were ranked one through six with all picking up at least one first place vote.  South Dakota State moved up to seventh followed by James Madison, Montana, Charleston Southern, Chattanooga, Western Illinois, Youngstown State, North Carolina A&T and Eastern Illinois in the top 15.  Villanova was 16th with Cal Poly, Central Arkansas, North Dakota, Coastal Carolina, Samford, Stony Brook, Grambling State, Albany and Tennessee State rounding out the poll.

EIU October 29 Game Part of ESPN3 Package

The October 29 Eastern Illinois at Jacksonville State game has been selected as a "Wildcard Selection" in the league's Game of the Week football package on ESPN3. The game will kick off at 2 p.m. CT at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium.

When the league's eight-contest Game of the Week schedule was announced in July, the Oct. 29, Nov. 5, Nov. 12 and Nov. 19 games were deemed "Wildcard" dates where the matchup would not be announced until roughly two weeks prior to the contest.

Eastern Illinois and Jacksonville State have played 13 times since the Gamecocks joined the OVC prior to the 2003 season, with JSU holding a 7-6 advantage after winning the last two contests. The two teams have combined to win the last four OVC regular season championships and both enter this week nationally-ranked. If they are both ranked in two weeks it will mark the third time since 2009 that both teams will be ranked when they square off.

This marks the fourth-straight season the league has produced the Game of the Week package in conjunction with WebStream Sports. WebStream Sports, an Indianapolis-based company which is a proven leader in video production, streaming video and content creation. The company, founded in 2006, produces more than 1,000 events annually.

Kevin Ingram, host of "The Wake Up Zone" on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, will handle play-by-play duties while Bob Belvin, on-air talent and contributor at 100.7 FM/AM 540 (ESPN Clarksville), will provide analysis. The duo has worked together each of the past four years in the league's TV package.

ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through WatchESPN. The network is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.