BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Following Eastern Illinois 65-15 win over Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon juniors Jimmy Garoppolo and Pete Houlihan were named the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.  The Panthers are 3-2 overall, 2-0 in the OVC.  EIU plays at UT Martin on Saturday with a 2 p.m. kickoff.

Garoppolo won his second OVC Offensive Player of the Week award after having a career day under center.  He completed 18-of-31 passes for a career-high 453 yards and five touchdowns (all over 50 yards in length) and rushed for 48 yards and another score in Eastern Illinois' 65-15 victory over Austin Peay on Saturday. It marked his fourth 300-plus yard passing game of the season; the 453 yards were the fourth-most in school history and are the eighth-most yards by a quarterback in a single game in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) this season. Garoppolo had touchdown passes of 66, 66, 50, 63 and 56 yards as it marked the third time this season he has thrown five touchdowns in a game. His 52 career passing touchdowns now ranks third in school history behind only Tony Romo and Sean Payton. The junior currently ranks second nationally in each points responsible for (23.60/game), total offense (369.40 yards/game) and total passing yards (1,827) while also ranking third nationally in passing yards/game (365.4) and fifth in completions (28.20/game).

Houlihan was part of a defensive effort that shutdown Austin Peay 65-15.  The Panthers limited the Governors ground game to negative eight yards rushing until late in the second quarter before APSU finished with only 124 yards rushing all day.  He recorded a team-high 10 tackles (7 solo). In addition to his 10 stops, the junior had 1.5 tackles-for-loss and half a sack while also forcing a fumble, netting a pass breakup and registering a quarterback hurry. Houlihan currently ranks seventh nationally in forced fumbles/game (0.50).