This Saturday, Nov. 23, the Skyhawks will take on the back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Illinois Panthers in the last game of the regular season.
The Panthers, who are ranked second in the FCS Coaches’ Poll, come in to the game at 9-1 and a perfect 7-0 in the OVC. Their only loss was a 43-39 loss to Northern Illinois, a team who is currently 10-0 and ranked sixteenth in the BCS Standings.
The Skyhawks (7-4, 5-2 OVC), who just upset Eastern Kentucky, will have their hands full with the offense of EIU.
The Panthers literally lead the OVC in every offensive category while the Skyhawks rank second in scoring defense, third in total defense and third in passing defense.
The matchup that everyone will be watching is Panther’s quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the Skyhawks secondary.
Garoppolo has had no problems shredding defenses this year. The Skyhawks pass rush, led by DJ Roberts and Tony Bell will have to keep Garoppolo on the ground to keep the game from getting out of hand.
The key for a Skyhawk victory may very well be on special teams. EIU ranks near the bottom of the conference in nearly every statistical category with the exception of punt returns, they rank first.
While the Panthers received an automatic birth in the FCS Tournament after winning the OVC Championship, the Skyhawks are still trying to find their way in.
For a team that started off the season with wins against Chattanooga and Central Arkansas, the Skyhawks had a mid-season slump that all but ended their playoff hopes. However, with a chance to knock off the No. 2 FCS team in the country in their own stadium, the Skyhawks shouldn’t need any extra motivation to end the regular season on a good note.
As Dan Fouts once said, “It’s the last game of the year, can’t hold anything back.”
