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Eastern Illinois (2-4, 1-0 OVC) at Tennessee State (2-4, 1-0 OVC)
Nissan Stadium (69,143)  •   Nashville, Tenn.
October 22, 2022   •   2 p.m.   •   TV: ESPN+

EIU Game Notes  |  TSU Game Notes  |  Listen Live  |  Live Stats  |  Watch on ESPN+ 

NOTES TO KNOW
• Eastern Illinois played its first overtime contest since the 2018 season as the Panthers lost in double overtime to OVC newcomer Lindenwood, 37-34.  The game was a non-conference contest between the two schools as EIU dropped to 2-4 on the season.  EIU heads to Tennessee State this weekend as one of four teams that are currently undefeated in OVC play as EIU is 1-0 after a win at Murray State back on Sept. 24.  EIU will face one of those other undefeated conference teams as TSU has won two straight and stands at 2-4 overall, 1-0 in the OVC.  The other two undefeated OVC teams are UT Martin (3-0) and Southeast Missouri (2-0).

• Alexandar Oyawale was named the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week after being part of a solid Panthers defensive effort that had five sacks and four turnovers gained.  Oyawale had one of the five sacks in the contest and forced one of the turnovers with a forced fumble.  In the fourth quarter he would scoop up another fumble and return it 40 yards for a touchdown.  The last EIU player to return a fumble for a touchdown was Bryce Dewberry last year at Tennessee Tech.

• Trey Wilhoit was named the Ohio Valley Conference Special Teams Player of the Week earning the honor for the second time this year.  Wilhoit had five punts in the game against Lindenwood averaging 43 yards per punt with a long of 59 yards.  He pinned two punts inside the 20-yard line including one downed inside the 1-yard line.  Wilhoit is 14th in the FCS this season in punting averaging 43.4 yards per punt with a long of 62 yards.

• Eastern Illinois forced multiple turnovers in a game for a the fourth straight game as the Panthers had four turnovers gained on Saturday against Lindenwood.  EIU had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, one which was returned for a touchdown.  On the season EIU now has 16 turnovers gained which ranks fourth in the FCS this season.  The national leader is Mercer with 18 followed by East Tennessee and Furman, both with 17.  

• Quarterback Jonah O'Brien engineered three of the Panthers four touchdowns on Saturday against Lindenwood scoring on a pair of short rushing touchdowns and throwing for a third to DeAirious Smith.  O'Brien was 14-of-21 passing in the game for 152 yards.  For the season he ranks eighth in the FCS in completion percentage at 70 percent.  He now has four rushing touchdowns this season tying him for the team lead with fellow quarterback Dom Shoffner.