2022 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

2022 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	2–9 (1–4 OVC)
Head coach	Chris Wilkerson (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Davis (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Adam Gristick (1st season)
Home stadium	O'Brien Field

2022 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 15 Southeast Missouri State +^		5	–	0					9	–	3
UT Martin +		5	–	0					7	–	4
Tennessee State		2	–	3					4	–	7
Tennessee Tech		2	–	3					4	–	7
Lindenwood *		1	–	3					7	–	3
Eastern Illinois		1	–	4					2	–	9
Murray State		1	–	4					2	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Note: Lindenwood ineligible for OVC title and FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II. Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2022 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represents Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Panthers are led by first-year head coach Chris Wilkerson and play home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois.

Preseason

Preseason coaches' poll

The OVC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 19, 2022. The Panthers were picked to finish in second to last place.

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	UT Martin	70 (10)
2	Southeast Missouri	59 (3)
3	Murray State	51
4	Tennessee State	46 (1)
5	Tennessee Tech	29
6	Eastern Illinois	20
7	Lindenwood	19

Preseason All-OVC team

The Panthers had six players selected to the preseason all-OVC team.

Offense

• Isaiah Hill – WR
• Jay Vallie — TE

Defense

• Jordan Miles – DE
• Tim Varga — DE
• Russell Dandy — CB
• Jordan Vincent — NB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 p.m.	at Northern Illinois*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN+	L 27–34	10,864
September 10	6:00 p.m.	No. 11 Chattanooga*	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+	L 20–38	6,565
September 17	6:30 p.m.	at Illinois State*	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL (Mid-America Classic)	Marquee	L 7–35	8,208
September 24	4:00 p.m.	at Murray State	Roy Kidd Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 35–21	10,112
October 8	2:00 p.m.	Northwestern State*	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+	W 35–27	3,153
October 15	2:00 p.m.	Lindenwood	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+	L 34–37 2OT	6,875
October 22	2:00 p.m.	at Tennessee State	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN+	L 17–37	6,237
October 29	2:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+	L 17–20	5,817
November 5	7:00 p.m.	at McNeese State*	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	ESPN+	L 15–29	7,520
November 12	2:00 p.m.	No. 20 Southeast Missouri State	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+	L 7–31	1,831
November 19	2:00 p.m.	at No. 25 UT Martin	Graham Stadium Martin, TN	ESPN+	L 31–34	3,003
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Source:

Game summaries

At Northern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	3	3	7	14	27
Huskies	7	14	7	6	34

See also: 2022 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

No. 11 Chattanooga

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Mocs	7	7	14	10	38
Panthers	10	0	10	0	20

See also: 2022 Chattanooga Mocs football team

At Illinois State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	0	0	0	7
Redbirds	7	14	14	0	35

See also: 2022 Illinois State Redbirds football team and Mid-America Classic

Murray State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	14	10	0	11	35
Racers	7	7	0	7	21

See also: 2022 Murray State Racers football team

Northwestern State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Demons	7	0	7	13	27
Panthers	21	14	0	0	35

See also: 2022 Northwestern State Demons football team

Lindenwood

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
Lions	0	14	0	10	7	6	37
Panthers	7	3	7	7	7	3	34

See also: 2022 Lindenwood Lions football team

At Tennessee State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	14	3	17
Tigers	3	24	0	10	37

See also: 2022 Tennessee State Tigers football team

Tennessee Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	0	3	10	7	20
Panthers	3	14	0	0	17

See also: 2022 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football team

At McNeese State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	7	0	8	15
Cowboys	10	9	7	3	29

See also: 2022 McNeese State Cowboys football team

No. 20 Southeast Missouri State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Redhawks	0	21	3	7	31
Panthers	0	7	0	0	7

See also: 2022 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football team

At No. 25 UT Martin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	17	0	7	7	31
No. 25 Skyhawks	14	7	6	7	34

See also: 2022 UT Martin Skyhawks football team