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Panthers Head West To Open The Season Eastern Illinois Plays At San Diego State

No. 21/23 Eastern Illinois at San Diego State
Qualcomm Stadium (54,000) • San Diego, Calif.
August 31, 2013 • 5 p.m. (Pacific) • TV: CampusInsiders.com (Mountain West)

THE GAME
Eastern Illinois opens the season on the road for the first time since the 2010 season as EIU travels to San Diego State. EIU has won its last two season openers at home but has not won a road season opener since 2005 when the Panthers beat Indiana State, 24-13.

EIU won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season title last year with a 6-1 record. The Panthers advanced to their 14th FCS playoff appearance falling at South Dakota State to end the year at 7-5. The Panthers have been picked as the OVC preseason favorites this year with senior wide receiver Erik Lora the preseason OVC Player of the Year. Lora and senior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo have both been named to the Walter Payton Award preseason watch list for 2013.

San Diego State won the Mountain West Conference regular season title last year with a 7-1 record. The Aztecs played in the Poinsettia Bowl falling to BYU to end the season with a 9-4 record. This season San Diego State has been picked second in the Mountain West Conference West Division behind Fresno State. The Aztecs return three preseason All-Conference players.

THE SERIES
This will be the second meeting between Eastern Illinois and San Diego State. The Aztecs won the previous meeting 40-7 back on Oct. 6, 2001, the Panthers first game flying following 9/11. Larry Ned rushed for 285 yards to lead the San Diego State ground game as they led 17-7 at the half. Tony Romo passed for 199 yards including a 65-yard touchdown pass to Andre Raymond in the second quarter. Raymond finished with 223 all-purpose yards. The loss was the only regular season set back for EIU as the Panthers climbed to No. 3 in the nation before losing in the FCS playoffs.

• Senior wide receiver Erik Lora returns after a record setting junior campaign in which he set the FCS single season record for receptions with 136. Lora was a consensus first team All-American finishing fourth in voting for the Walter Payton Award. Lora needs 23 receptions this year to become the OVC career leader. Lora needs 29 catches this season to break into the FCS career top 25.

• Erik Lora amassed 1,664 receiving yards in 2012 which ranks as the fifth highest single season total in FCS history. Lora moved into fourth place on the EIU career receiving yards list with 2,462 yards. He needs 715 yards this season to pass Roy Banks for first place on the EIU career list. Lora enters the year 11th on the OVC career receiving yards list. He needs 26 yards to crack the OVC career top ten.

• Senior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo set the OVC single season record for passing yards with 3,823 last season which ranks second on the EIU career list. Garoppolo fell 20 yards short of breaking Sean Payton's EIU school record set during the 1984 season.

• Jimmy Garoppolo was named a preseason All-OVC selection after earning second team All-OVC honors last season. Garoppolo was 331-of-540 with 31 touchdowns last season as he climbed into the top three on just about every EIU career passing list. Garoppolo continues to chase former signal callers Tony Romo and Sean Payton in passing yards, touchdown passes and total offense. He is second in career pass completions behind Payton.

• Erik Lora and Jimmy Garoppolo both finished in the top ten for voting for the Walter Payton Award last season marking the first time in the history of the award that two players from the same school have finished in the top ten in voting. Lora was fourth and Garoppolo was tenth. Both players have once again been named to the preseason ballot this year as EIU is the only school with two players as early candidates. Tony Romo won the award in 2002.

• Junior Taylor Duncan is the Panthers top returning ground gainer from last season as 1,000 yard rusher Jake Walker graduated. Duncan, a converted quarterback, rushed for 466 yards with eight touchdowns. As fall camp ends Shepard Little has locked up the number spot. Jimmy Lera is the number three on the depth chart after rushing for 187 yards two seasons ago. Lera played in two games as a wide receiver last season.

• Eastern Illinois returns three of its five starters from the offensive line to open the season at San Diego State. Seniors Dominic Pagliara (left tackle) and Alex Pierce (right guard) are three year starters while junior Collin Seibert (left guard) is a two-year starter. Seibert was a first team All-OVC selection last season. Redshirt sophomore Nick Borre has secured the starting center spot while redshirt freshman Jimmy Lowery will open the season at right tackle.

• While EIU returns two big components of its passing game in Erik Lora and Jimmy Garoppolo, the Panthers will have to replace the next five top receivers from last years team. Redshirt junior Adam Drake will start at one position after playing primarily on special teams last year. Two seasons ago Drake started six games catching 19 passes for 312 yards. The other two starters are Keiondre Gober and Jeff LePak. Gober caught nine passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns as a true freshman last year. LePak is a transfer from Baylor.

• The Panthers return two starters as specialists in senior kicker Cameron Berra and senior punter Scott Weatherford. Berra was a first team All-OVC selection last year making 12-of-13 field goals and 48-of-52 PAT's. Weatherford averaged 39.4 yards per punt and also serves as the holder on the field goal unit. The key new component for EIU on special teams will be long snapper AJ Hantak, a true freshman from Fenton, Mo., where he played at Rockwood Summit High School. The kick off duties will be split between Taylor Kerr and Cody Meyer.

• Eastern Illinois must replace three of its four starters on the defensive front four with the lone returner, sixth year player Pat Wertz (53 tackles, 8.5 TFL). Timotheus Granger has locked up the defensive end spot opposite of Wertz. Granger had ten tackles with 1.5 TFL last season. Dino Fanti and Jon Voytilla are slated to start at the defensive tackle spots. Fanti had 15 tackles with 3 TFL last season. Voytilla was a starter two seasons ago but made only four tackles as a back-up last year.

• All three linebackers return for the Panthers with Robert Haynes and LeQuince McCall ranking first and third on the team in tackles last season. Haynes made 101 tackles with 6.5 TFL despite missing the final regular season game at Central Arkansas. McCall was an All-OVC Newcomer selection last year after transferring from Baylor. McCall made 82 tackles. Adam Gristick is the third returning starter with 42 tackles. The back-ups at all three positions are also veteran players with Kamu Grugier-Hill, Antonio Taylor and Alex Helms all making 27 or more tackles last year.

• Nick Beard was an All-OVC selection at safety last year leading the team with 62 solo tackles while ranking second overall with 85 stops. Beard needs 21 solo tackles this season to break into the EIU career top ten. The senior has 25 career starts with 17 pass break-ups but no career interceptions.

• Safety Jourdan Wickliffe was a spark for the Panthers defense last season after moving from wide receiver to defensive back against Murray State where he made ten tackles in his first defensive game. He finished the season with 76 tackles and tied for the team lead with two interceptions.

• Pete Houlihan will start at one corner position while D.J. Bland has locked up the other spot for the season opener. Houlihan started 11 games last year missing the Illinois State game with an injury. Houlihan was fourth on the team with 78 tackles. Bland started the first six games of the year last season finishing with 37 tackles and seven pass break-ups.

• The season opener at San Diego State will mark the fourth time that Eastern Illinois has played a team from the state of California. EIU is 1-2 in previous meetings against California teams including a 2001 loss at San Diego State. EIU won at UC Davis in the 1978 NCAA Division II playoffs en route to the National Championship. EIU lost to Cal Poly in the 1980 NCAA Division II Championship game played in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

• Eastern Illinois has won three of its last four season openers including two straight at O'Brien Field in 2011 and 2012. EIU is 11-10 in season openers on the road as an NCAA Division I member but the Panthers have not won a road opener since 2005 with a victory over Indiana State. EIU is 1-7 when opening the season against an FBS opponent with the lone win at Western Michigan in 1996.

• Eastern Illinois will play two schools from FBS conference this season as the schedule allows FCS schools to play 12 regular season games this year. This will mark the eighth time in program history that EIU has played two games against FBS schools in the same season. EIU last played two FBS schools in the same season in 2008 finishing with a 5-7 record.

EASTERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH DINO BABERS
Dino Babers made an immediate impact on the Eastern Illinois program taking the Panthers from last in the OVC in 2011 to first in the conference in 2012 during his first season as head coach. Babers was a former assistant on EIU head coach Bob Spoo's first staff in 1987 and returned to EIU as the head coach in December of 2011. He was named the OVC Coach of the Year in 2012 and finished third in voting for the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year Award. Babers record at EIU is 7-5, including a 6-1 record in the OVC. He is a 1984 graduate of the University of Hawai'i.

SAN DIEGO STATE HEAD COACH ROCKY LONG
Rocky Long enters his third season as the head coach at San Diego State and his 14th overall season as a head coach. Last season he led the Aztecs to a share of the Mountain West Conference regular season championship and berth in the Poinsettia Bowl, the second straight bowl appearance for SDSU under Long. He has a 17-9 record at San Diego State and a career record of 82-78 including eleven seasons as the head coach at New Mexico. At New Mexico, Long led the Lobos to five bowl games including a 9-4 record in 2007. He is a 1974 graduate of New Mexico who went on to play in the Canadian Football League and World Football League.

SCOUTING SAN DIEGO STATE
San Diego State returns a potent running game led by junior tailback Adam Muema who rushed for 1,458 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. Ryan Dingwell is listed as the starting quarterback after playing in all 13 games last year and passing for 939 yards. The Aztecs strength will be in their defense that returns nine starters including the teams top four tacklers. Linebacker Jake Fely had a team high seven sacks to go along with 11.5 tackles for loss and 90 tackles. San Diego State was picked to finish second in the Mountain West Conference West Division behind Fresno State. Muema, Fely and defensive back Nat Berhe were preseason All-MWC selections.

ON THIS DATE IN EIU HISTORY
August 31, 1995 - Eastern Illinois opened what would end up being a 10-2 season with a convincing 31-13 win over Austin Peay in the Panthers final season as a member of the Gateway Football Conference. Willie High rushed for 171 yards and one score as EIU led 17-0 at the half. Tim Carver led a solid defensive effort making 12 tackles including ten solo stops.

HOMECOMING FOR COACHES
Eastern Illinois will have four coaches from its current staff making a homecoming when the Panthers play San Diego State in the season opener. Panthers head coach Dino Babers is a San Diego native having played his high school football at Morse High School before attending the University of Hawai'i. Babers later returned to San Diego as an assistant coach at San Diego State coaching wide receivers during the 1994 season. Defensive line coach Tom Freeman is a San Diego State alumnus having coached at his alma mater from 1981-83. Defensive coordinator Kim McCloud is from Los Angeles while running backs coach Mike Lynch is a native of Roseville, Calif.

TWO PLAYERS RETURNING TO CALIFORNIA
Over the years Eastern Illinois has had a series of players from The Golden State. This season is no different as two Panthers are California natives making their way home for the season opener. Laquesse Taylor and Marques White are both junior college transfers who will be playing their first season for EIU. Taylor is from Fresno where he played at Edison HS before time at College of the Sequoias. White is from Folsom where he played at Vista Del Lago HS and later at Saddleback College.

TWO GAMES IN NFL STADIUMS
The season opener at San Diego State will be the first of two NFL stadiums the Panthers play road games in this season. EIU will play Ohio Valley Conference member Tennessee State at LP Field in Nashville (home of the Tennessee Titans) on Oct. 26. The Panthers opener against SDSU is at Qualcomm Stadium, home of the San Diego Chargers. EIU has previously played at both venues and has played at four NFL stadiums during the history of the program. EIU played in Joe Robbie Stadium (home of the Miami Dolphins) facing Florida Atlantic in the early 2000's. EIU played several games against Illinois-Chicago in the early 1970's at Solider Field, home of the Chicago Bears.