Friday, October 10, 2008 11:07 PM CDT
This time, even a good effort wasn't enough
By BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
X-rays were negative Friday checking for broken ribs for Eastern Illinois quarterback Bodie Reed.
Coach Bob Spoo already knew his quarterback has lots of heart.
With Reeder’s gutsy performance as an example, maybe Thursday night’s 29-26 Ohio Valley Conference football loss at UT Martin becomes even more of a let’s face reality statement.
This time Spoo was not talking about a flat, uninspired effort like the previous loss when Jacksonville State slapped the Panthers with a 23-10 wakeup call.
“I thought our guys played really hard,” Spoo said of Thursday’s game at UT Martin. “There was a lot of intensity and emotion and even some courage. It’s unfortunate that it turned out the way it did.”
Through the drama of a UT Martin comeback from a 16-7 halftime deficit and Eastern’s attempted comeback from what became a 29-19 UT Martin fourth-quarter lead, you nearly forgot that Reeder got up very slowly taking a hit on a pass that went for a 29-yard touchdown to Chevon Walker.
That was in the first quarter.
Reeder continued to play finishing with 284 yards and three touchdowns on 24-for-31 passing.
Then discussions were that the junior quarterback would stay at a hospital at Martin Thursday night although he was eventually allowed to come back on the team bus before X-rays showed he would probably be OK to play next week.
Charles Graves, who caught seven passes for 109 yards and a touchdown, was playing hurt by the end of the game.
Across the board, Spoo was not talking about lack of effort.
“Not in the least,” the coach said. “We were in it from the get-go.”
So just how does Eastern get outgained 300 yards to 108 in rushing?
“That’s a good question,” Spoo said. “We’re trying to figure that out. It might be missed tackles. It might be execution.
“Our goal every game is to stop the run and we just haven’t done that. Giving up that 94-yard run is so not like us.”
Brandyn Young’s third-quarter 94-yard touchdown igniting UT Martin’s comeback was part of the junior’s 213-yard, four-touchdown performance.
This was just another bit of evidence that EIU’s last-place standing in rushing defense statistics was not just skewed by a schedule that started with Central Michigan and Illinois.
“On the other side of the ball, we’re not running the ball either,” Spoo said.
Eastern fans and coaches may have gotten spoiled by teams that have usually been able to flex muscles and run over OVC opponents.
Now, after earlier in the week having a streak of 36 straight weeks being voted in the top 25 of at least one of the two most recognized NCAA Football Championship Subdivision polls, the Panthers also lost a second straight OVC game for the first time since November of 2004.
Ironically, these losses have come after two wins over the Missouri Valley Conference, this year’s new name for the Gateway Conference that is considered and probably still is superior to the OVC. Indiana State and Illinois State are far from the top of the Missouri Valley.
But the OVC has caught up and at least the past two weeks surpassed Eastern Illinois.
The Panthers’ bid for the first streak of four straight postseason berths in school history is not impossible but doubtful now at 2-4 overall and 0-2 in the OVC.
The league is balanced enough that a team might win it with two losses. Of course, that feat looks difficult now for the Panthers, who have tough road games at Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State among the challenges.
“There’s a slim chance of doing that,” Spoo said of still getting into the playoffs. “We’ll see what happens.”
Maybe the goals have to be altered.
“We want to stay competitive and win a few more games,” Spoo said.
With injuries and certainly some disappointments the past two games, even next Saturday’s Homecoming game against Southeast Missouri cannot be considered automatic.
Brian Nielsen is sports editor of the Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. Contact him at bnielsen@jg-tc.com.
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