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Eastern Illinois vs. Murray State
O'Brien Field (10,000)   •   Charleston, Ill.
November 8, 2014   •  12 p.m.   •   TV: WEIU / OVC Digital Network

THE GAME
Eastern Illinois won its third straight Ohio Valley Conference game with a 41-10 win at Tennessee Tech last week.  It marked the 18th conference win for the program in the last three years as the Panthers remained alive in the OVC championship race.

EIU's defense allowed just ten points with a third quarter touchdown the only one allowed by the Panthers in the last two games.   EIU's defense has given up just two touchdowns in the last three games as they now rank 24th in the nation in total defense.  EIU picked off a pass in a game for the seventh time this season as they rank ninth in the country with 13 interceptions.

On offense the Panthers once again featured a balanced attack with the offense rushing for 301 yards while quarterback Jalen Whitlow passed for 297 yards.  EIU did turn the ball over four times after not committing a turnover the previous two games.

Murray State enters the weekend having lost its last two OVC games following a 62-38 loss to UT Martin.   The Racers did sandwich an 86-29 win over Kentucky Wesleyan between the UT Martin loss and a loss to Austin Peay.  Murray State features the highest scoring offensive unit in the OVC averaging 38.2 points per game.   The Racers are seventh in the nation in passing offense at 297 yards per game while only throwing seven interceptions this season during 372 pass attempts.

THE SERIES
This will be 30th meeting between Eastern Illinois and Murray State with the Panthers leading the all-time series 16-13.   EIU has won the last two games in the series with a 37-17 win in Murray last season.  In 2012 EIU beat Murray State 50-49 in overtime as the Panthers converted a two-point conversion in the first overtime period in Charleston.  EIU has won 11 of the last 14 meetings dating back to the 2000 season.