Eastern Illinois (1-3) at No. 2 South Dakota State (3-1)
Dykhouse Stadium (19,340)  •   Brookings, SD
September 26, 2026  •   6 pm   •   TV: ESPN+

GAME COVERAGE
EIU Complete Game Notes
South Dakota State Game Notes
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NOTES TO KNOW
• Eastern Illinois wraps up the non-conference portion of its 2026 schedule on Saturday as the Panthers travel to play at No. 2 South Dakota State.   It will be EIU's second straight game against an FCS Top 5 opponent after playing last week at No. 4 Illinois State in the 114th Mid-America Classic.  EIU is 1-3 on the season, winning the season opener at Murray State, before three straight losses at Minnesota, to Indiana State and at Illinois State.  South Dakota State moved up to No. 2 in both FCS polls with a win over Youngstown State improving to 3-1 on the season.

• Quarterback Cole LaCrue was 15-of-25 for 150 yards on Saturday at Illinois State as the junior starter has now gone through four straight games without a turnover.  LaCrue ended the game rushing for an additional 15 yards and the Panthers lone touchdown in the game.  This season he has now passed for 584 yards with five touchdowns and a 59.6 completion percentage.  He has rushed for another 120 yards and two scores.  LaCrue has 89 consecutive pass attempts without an interception.   The EIU and OVC record is 230 set by Johnathan Brantley in 2018.

• Aidan Archibald and Premiere Whitley combined for the lone sack of the game on Saturday between Eastern Illinois and Illinois State as the Panthers had one sack while not allowing a sack by the Redbirds defense.  Archibald currently leads the Panthers with 1.5 sacks this season with nine total tackles.  Whitley also has nine tackles this year with the half sack.  Isaac Engle is second on the EIU roster this year with one sack as EIU has four as a team.

• Sophomore Jeremy Reeves was the Panthers most effective receiver on Saturday at Illinois State finishing with two catches for 44 yards.  Reeves caught his first collegiate pass in the week two game at Minnesota.  Last week against Indiana State he hauled in two more passes including his first career touchdown in the third quarter.  Reeves has five catches this season for 81 yards to average 16.2 yards per reception.

• Linebacker Mafileo Tupou and safety Nick Vecchiarelli finished as the Panthers leaders in tackles on Saturday at Illinois State with both players finishing with nine stops.  It marked the third time this season that a different player has finished a game as the team leader in tackles.  Tupou is in his first season as a transfer from Adams State.  He currently ranks tied for third on the team with 16 tackles this season along with a forced fumble  Vecchiarelli is in his second year as a transfer from Marist. He now has 13 tackles this season and one of two EIU fumble recoveries.

• Kicker Drew Schiller knocked home field goals of 41 and 21 yards on Saturday as he is now 2-for-3 on field goals this season.  Schiller now has 16 career field goals entering his third year in the program (16-of-27) with the 41-yard connection on Saturday the fourth 40-plus yard field goal of his career.  He was successful on his one extra point and is now 11-of-11 on extra points this season and 39-of-41 on extra points in his Panthers career.