Eastern Illinois vs. No. 17/18 Jacksonville State
O'Brien Field (10,000)  •  Charleston, Ill.
Oct. 12, 2019  • 12 p.m.  •  TV: ESPN+
EIU Notes |Â
JSU Notes |Â
Listen Live |Â
Live Stats |Â
Watch Live ESPN+Â |
NOTES TO KNOW
• Eastern Illinois was stopped just short of the goal line as time expired on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers just missed a potential game tying touchdown during a 24-17 loss at Murray State. The loss dropped EIU to 0-6 on the season, 0-2 in the OVC. Jacksonville State enters the weekend at 4-2 overall, 1-1 in the OVC.
•
Jaelin Benefield has been a jack of all trades for the Panthers offense this fall as the freshman currently leads the team in scoring (3 touchdowns / 18 points), rushing yards (185) and pass receptions (29). The last running back to lead EIU in all three categories was Devin Church in both 2015 & 2016.
•
Dytarious Johnson recovered two fumbles against Murray State on Saturday moving into the team lead for that category as he ranks second in the FCS this season. Johnson returned one of the fumbles 50 yards. The last EIU player to recover two fumbles in a game was Kamu Grugier-Hill on Nov. 28, 2015 against Northern Iowa in the FCS playoffs.
• Eastern Illinois will be playing a ranked FCS team for the 92nd time when the Panthers host Jacksonville State on Saturday. EIU is 25-66 all-time against ranked FCS schools but has posted an 18-24 record against ranked opponents when playing at O'Brien Field. EIU's last win over a ranked FCS opponent was Sept. 30, 2017 at Tennessee State.
THE SERIES
• Eastern Illinois and Jacksonville State will be meeting for the 17th time when the two schools face off on Saturday. JSU has won the last five OVC regular season titles including five straight wins over EIU to take a 10-6 all-time series lead. EIU won back-to-back games over JSU in 2012 & 2013 as the Panthers claimed back-to-back OVC championships. Since JSU joined the OVC in 2003, the two schools have won a combined 13 conference titles with the Gamecocks winning eight and the Panthers five.
