Eastern Illinois (4-3, 0-2 Conf.) vs. Bryant (3-3, 1-0 Conf.)
O'Brien Field (10,000) • Charleston, Ill.
October 21, 2023 • 2 p.m. • TV: ESPN+
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NOTES TO KNOW
• Eastern Illinois returns home to face Bryant for the Panthers Hall of Fame Game on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers lost at Southeast Missouri on Saturday as a pass was knocked down in the end zone on the final play of the game. It marked the second straight week EIU's game has come down to the final play of the contest as the Panthers fell to 4-3 overall, 0-2 in the Big South-OVC Football Association. Bryant enters at 3-3, 1-0 in the Big South-OVC after a win over Robert Morris last weekend.
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Pierce Holley passed for 346 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday at Southeast Missouri putting up his second straight 300-yard passing performance. Last week against UT Martin he passed for 359 yards and four touchdowns earning Big South-OVC Football Offensive Player of the Week honors. He has currently passed for 1,905 yards this season which ranks fifth in the FCS. He added two touchdown passes to his season total with his 13 touchdowns currently 12th in the FCS. Holley has been sharp most of the season with a completion percentage of 62.1 percent going 167-of-269 with five interceptions. The last EIU quarterback with back-to-back 300-yard passing games was Jimmy Garoppolo during the 2013 season against Tennessee State (410 yds / Oct. 26) and Tennessee Tech (399 yards / Nov. 2).
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Pierce Holley was dialed in to not one but two receivers on Saturday at Southeast Missouri as
Justin Thomas and
DeAirious Smith both finished with more than 100 yards receiving in the game. Thomas had five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown with a long reception of 43 yards. Smith hauled in four passes for 118 yards with a long reception of 46 yards. It marked the 21st time in school history that EIU had two receivers finish with more than 100 yards receiving in a game. The last time was Oct. 6, 2018 when Alexander Hollins and Aaron Gooch both had more than 100 yards receiving against Murray State.
• Safety
Blake Ruffin had his second big game for the Panthers defense over the last three weeks as he finished with ten tackles Saturday at Southeast Missouri. In the Panthers road win at Northwestern State on Sept. 30, Ruffin had 13 tackles with an interception earning Big South-OVC Football Defensive Player of the Week honors. This past week Ruffin added his third interception of the season setting up EIU's first touchdown of the game. Ruffin later added a big tackle for loss on third down stopping a SEMO drive and giving EIU the ball for one final drive. Ruffin's three interceptions rank him 14th in the FCS while his 48 tackles are second on the EIU team.
