Eastern Illinois at UT Martin
Graham Stadium (7,500) • Martin, Tenn.
October 28, 2017 • 2 p.m. • TV: ESPN3
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NOTES TO KNOW
• Eastern Illinois lost its first Ohio Valley Conference game of the season last Saturday as the Panthers fell to No. 3 Jacksonville State. EIU is currently tied for second place in the OVC standings with Austin Peay, both schools with a 5-3 overall record, 4-1 in the OVC.
• This will mark the second straight week that Eastern Illinois will play on ESPN3 as the Ohio Valley Conference Game of the Week and third time this season. EIU is currently 1-1 in those games beating No. 24 Tennessee State in double overtime and then losing to No. 3 Jacksonville State last weekend at home.
• Saturday's match-up between Eastern Illinois and UT Martin could very well come down to third down success. Eastern Illinois enters the weekend ranked ninth in the OVC in 3rd down conversions executing at a 29 percent rate for the season. UT Martin ranks as the top team in the OVC in third down conversion defense allowing teams to convert just 29 percent of the time. In the Panthers five wins this season they are converting at 32.2 percent on 3rd down. In the three losses, EIU is converting at 22.7 percent.
• Redshirt freshman cornerback
Mark Williams was one of 17 players named to the Watch List for the 2017 Jerry Rice Award. The award, presented since the 2011 season, is given to the top FCS freshmen player. Williams is currently fifth on the Panthers team with 40 tackles. This season he has three interceptions including one returned for a touchdown in the season opener at Indiana State. Williams has added six pass break-ups and one fumble recovery.
THE SERIES
• Eastern Illinois and UT Martin will be meeting for the 23rd time with the Panthers leading the all-time series 14-8. EIU dominated the series when the schools first began playing in 1995. The Skyhawks won their first game in the series in 2004 and under current head coach Jason Simpson have won seven of the last 11 meetings. EIU has won during its last two visits to UTM - 23-21 in 2015 and 70-22 in 2013.
