Rivals Meet In 104th Mid-America Classic
Eastern Illinois Hosts Illinois State Saturday Night Eastern Illinois vs. No. 5/6 Illinois State
O'Brien Field (10,000) • Charleston, Ill.
September 19, 2015 • 7 p.m. • TV: WCIA / WMBD / WTWOEastern Illinois Game Notes |
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THE GAME* Eastern Illinois plays its home opener on Saturday night hosting Illinois State in the 104th playing of the Mid-America Classic. The rivalry is the 14th most played rivalry in the FCS and one of the oldest in the state of the Illinois.
* Illinois State comes into the game ranked No. 5 / No. 6 in the FCS polls. EIU is 4-18 all-time against teams ranked in the top five. The last top five opponent to play at O'Brien Field was No. 4 Towson during the FCS quarterfinal round in 2013. EIU's last win over a top five team was Nov. 7, 1992, a 21-15 win over No. 1 ranked Northern Iowa.
* The September 19 home opening date for Eastern Illinois marks the latest calendar date for a home opener for the Panthers since the 2002 season. That year EIU opened with a pair of road losses at Hawaii and Kansas State. EIU returned home to host Indiana State on Sept. 21 beating the Sycamores 26-19.
* Eastern Illinois will honor former NFL head coach Mike Shanahan on Saturday between the first and second quarters. Shanahan will have a banner honoring his accomplishments as both a college and NFL coach recognized during the ceremony.
* Eastern Illinois will honor the members of its 2015 Hall of Fame class at halftime Saturday night. Included in that group is former head football coach Bob Spoo.
THE SERIESThis will be 104th meeting between Eastern Illinois and Illinois State with the Redbirds leading the all-time series 53-41-9. ISU won last year's meeting in Normal, 34-15. The two schools have split the last six meetings with each team winning on its home turf. The last road win in the series was by EIU in 2008 at Normal. ISU's last win at O'Brien Field was 2007, a 24-21 win. Since the two school's began playing for the Mid-America Classic traveling trophy at the 100th meeting, each school has won twice on its home field.
