EIU Will Host Second Round FCS Playoff Game

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois football will host a second round FCS playoff game on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. against the winner of the Butler / Tennessee State game which takes place on Saturday, Nov. 30.  EIU was selected as the number two seed in the FCS playoff field and received the first round bye.

Tickets for the first round playoff game will go on sale on Monday morning through the EIU ticket office (217-581-2106) or online at www.eiupanthertickets.com   Game tickets are $20 for adults, $5 for college student and youth.  EIU season ticket holders will have until Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 12 p.m. (Noon) to purchase their current seat locations for the playoff game.  Season ticket holders with a chair back can purchase that chair back for an additional $5.  Chair backs must be reserved at the same time as ticket purchases.

There will be a charge for parking for all home FCS playoff games.  The cost will be $10 for the asphalt lots on the North and South side of O’Brien Field and Lantz Arena as well as the grass lot located between the EIU Facilities and O’Brien West Lot.  Panther Club members that currently have a pass for the West Lot will be given the opportunity to purchase a playoff pass in that same lot through the EIU Ticket Office or Panther Club.  Panther Club members will be receiving information on costs for those passes via email or telephone on Monday and Tuesday of this week.

This marks the 15th FCS playoff appearance for Eastern Illinois which is tied for the seventh most FCS playoff appearances all-time.  EIU is making back-to-back FCS playoff appearances after winning the Ohio Valley Conference regular season bid.  The OVC has a record three teams that made this year’s expanded 24 team field as Jacksonville State and Tennessee State both earned at-large playoff berths.

EIU is the number two seed in the field.  North Dakota State was the number one seed with Eastern Washington the number three seed and Southeastern Louisiana the number four seed.

Eastern Illinois senior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was named the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week as the Panthers capped an 8-0 OVC campaign with a 70-22 win over UT Martin on Saturday.

It marks the seventh time this season Garoppolo has been named OVC Offensive Player of the Week (tying the OVC single-season record also held by Jacksonville State’s Ryan Perrilloux) and the ninth time in his career (tying the all-time record held by Perrilloux, EIU’s Tony Romo and Eastern Kentucky’s Markus Thomas).

Despite playing without two of his top three wide receivers, Garoppolo had another monster game, passing for 477 yards and six touchdowns in just a little over two and a half quarters as No. 2 Eastern Illinois improved to 11-1 on the season and a perfect 8-0 in the OVC with a 70-22 victory at UT Martin. The Walter Payton Award candidate threw touchdown passes of 33, 35, 9 and 40 yards in the first quarter alone and added a 51-yard touchdown pass prior to halftime to give the Panthers a 47-9 advantage. He added a 55-yard score in the third quarter before being lifted from the game. Garoppolo continues to lead all Division I players (FBS or FCS) with 4,489 passing yards and 48 touchdowns. The 48 touchdowns are third in FCS single-season history (just eight away from the record), while the 4,489 yards are fifth in FCS history (just 587 yards away from the record). The All-American also moved into eighth-place on the FCS career touchdown passes list (113) and ninth on the career passing yards list (12,595).

Listed below are the complete TV listings and start times for the first two rounds of the FCS playoffs.

FIRST-ROUND GAMES

November 30 at Orangeburg, South Carolina, 1 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Furman (7-5) at South Carolina State (9-3)

November 30 at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 1 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Bethune-Cookman (10-2) at Coastal Carolina (10-2)

November 30 at Durham, New Hampshire, Noon (ET) (ESPN3)

Lafayette (5-6) at New Hampshire (7-4)

November 30 at Huntsville, Texas, 3 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Southern Utah (8-4) at Sam Houston State (8-4)

November 30 at Flagstaff, Arizona, 8 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

South Dakota State (8-4) at Northern Arizona (9-2)

November 30 at Jacksonville, Alabama, 8 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Samford (8-4) at Jacksonville State (9-3)

November 30 at Bronx, New York, 1 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Sacred Heart (10-2) at Fordham (11-1)

November 30 at Indianapolis, Indiana, 1 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Tennessee State (9-3) at Butler (9-3)

SECOND-ROUND GAMES

December 7 at Fargo, North Dakota, 3:30 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Furman/South Carolina State winner at #1 North Dakota State (11-0)

December 7 at Missoula, Montana, 2 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Bethune-Cookman/Coastal Carolina winner at #8 Montana (10-2)

December 7 at Orono, Maine, 2 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Lafayette/New Hampshire winner at #5Maine (10-2)

December 7 at Hammond, Louisiana, 8 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Southern Utah/Sam Houston State winner at #4 Southeastern Louisiana (10-2)

December 7 at Cheney, Washington, 4 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

South Dakota State/Northern Arizona winner at #3 Eastern Washington (10-2)

December 7 at Lake Charles, Louisiana, 7 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Samford/Jacksonville State winner at #6 McNeese State (10-2)

December 7 at Towson, Maryland, 1 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Sacred Heart/Fordham winner at #7 Towson (10-2)

December 7 at Charleston, Illinois, 2 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)

Tennessee State/Butler winner at #2 Eastern Illinois (11-1)