2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team
| 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football | |
|---|---|
 | |
OVC co-champion | |
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 9–48 vs. Western Illinois | |
| Conference | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Sports Network | No. 15 |
| Record | 8–4 (5–1 OVC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Roy Wittke (13th season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Roc Bellantoni (1st season) |
| Home stadium | O'Brien Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Eastern Illinois +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Murray State +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Eastern Kentucky | 4 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 24 Southeast Missouri State | 4 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee Tech | 2 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee State | 1 | – | 5 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee–Martin | 0 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season.[1] Led by 16th-year head coach Bob Spoo, the Panthers compiling an overall record of 8–4 and shared the OVC title with a mark of 5–1 in conference play. They were invited to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoff, where they lost to Western Illinois in the first round.
Quarterback Tony Romo's efforts earned him the Walter Payton Award given to the most outstanding offensive player in NCAA Division I-AA, now known as NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Despite not being selected at the 2003 NFL Draft, Romo later signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent, eventually landing the starting job in 2006 season, and earned four Pro Bowl selections before his retirement in 2016.
Schedule[edit]
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 31 | 10:00 p.m. | at Hawaii* | No. 4 | L 36–61 | 39,958 | ||
| September 14 | 1:10 p.m. | at Kansas State* | No. 8 | L 13–63 | 45,642 | ||
| September 21 | Indiana State | No. 13 | W 26–19 | 8,340 | |||
| September 28 | Illinois State | No. 13 |
| W 45–10 | 10,731 | [2] | |
| October 5 | at Tennessee Tech | No. 13 | W 35–28 | 10,850 | |||
| October 12 | No. 19 Eastern Kentucky | No. 9 |
| W 25–24 | 8,397 | ||
| October 19 | at Southeast Missouri State | No. 7 | W 44–27 | 9,178 | |||
| November 2 | at Tennessee State | No. 6 | W 54–48 | 7,216 | [3] | ||
| November 9 | Tennessee–Martin | No. 6 |
| W 55–43 | 3,822 | ||
| November 16 | Florida Atlantic* | No. 3 |
| W 47–6 | 3,740 | ||
| November 23 | at Murray State | No. 2 | L 35–37 | 6,112 | |||
| November 30 | at No. 3 Western Illinois* | No. 10 | L 9–48 | 2,429 | [4] | ||
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Roster[edit]
| 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game summaries[edit]
At Kansas State[edit]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Wildcats | 15 | 28 | 13 | 7 | 63 |
Tony Romo was 13-14 for 120 yards and a TD in the first quarter, but Kansas State grabbed control and cruised to the 50-point win.[6]
Team players in the NFL[edit]
No Eastern Illinois players were selected in the 2003 NFL Draft.
The following finished their college career in 2002, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.
| Player | Position | First NFL team |
| Tony Romo | Quarterback | Dallas Cowboys |
References[edit]
- ^ "College Football Statistics". www.totalfootballstatistics.com. Total Football Statistics. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
- ^ "Panthers dominate Redbirds in record win". Herald & Review. September 29, 2002. p. C7. Retrieved December 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eastern wins despite Tennessee State's 675 yards". Herald and Review. November 3, 2002. Retrieved March 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "WIU storms Eastern". Quad-City Times. December 1, 2002. p. D3. Retrieved October 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Statistics Summary for 2002". static.eiupanthers.com. eiupanthers. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
- ^ "Kansas State Rout Is a Dunn Deal". Los Angeles Times. September 15, 2002. Retrieved September 9, 2019.