Tuesday, November 17, 2009 9:23 AM CST
Panthers can't relish 'near perfect' game
BY BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON -- That usual Monday off became an Eastern Illinois football work day.
No, this was not a punishment.
In fact, Bob Spoo, who is in his 23rd season as the Panthers’ coach, called Saturday’s 49-13 win over UT Martin “probably the most near perfect game that I’ve been involved with.”
Still, this is the short week.
Game day comes on Thursday when Tennessee State visits in a regular season finale set for 5:30 p.m. to accommodate an ESPNU telecast.
So what was a win worth savoring for a while had to be pushed aside.
“The fact that it’s Senior Night and it’s on ESPN should have everyone prepared to play,” senior safety Seymour Loftman said. “If not, I will get them prepared.”
If Loftman as one of the team captains does not get that done, the head coach may.
“That’s my temperament,” Spoo said. “You know me. I take football very seriously and our players do, too. At the outset I mentioned it’s not enough to share the championship.”
After all, that share of the Ohio Valley Conference title won last week does not assure anything for the postseason.
Lose on Thursday and the Panthers would have to sit and fret until Saturday, hoping that finishing strong in an already assured winning season and enhancing its national ranking in this year means enough to a Jacksonville State team which is ineligible for the NCAA playoffs or OVC title.
The Gamecocks play host to an Eastern Kentucky team whose incentives including keeping alive a streak of 31 consecutive winning seasons.
After last week’s surprising loss to Western Carolina, Eastern Kentucky is just 5-5 heading into Saturday’s pivotal regular season finale at 7-3 Jacksonville State.
Still, Eastern Kentucky is 5-2 in the OVC, and if EIU loses on Thursday, Eastern Kentucky could tie the Panthers for first place in the league and would win the tie-breaker for the league’s automatic playoff berth because of its 36-31 head-to-head win over EIU on Oct. 3.
That would have the Panthers sweating even more until Sunday hoping an 8-3 record would be enough for the NCAA selection committee to give them an at-large playoff berth despite a growing lack of respect for OVC football because of the league’s recent failures in the postseason.
So yes, the planning for a nice, relaxed, know-your-name-will-be-called-sometime-during-the-playoff-pairings-show party will be a lot easier if EIU, 8-2 overall and 6-1 atop the OVC, can just take care of business in Thursday’s game against Tennessee State, whose four-game losing streak, 3-7 overall record and 2-4 conference mark might not throw that much fear into EIU fans.
Spoo is trying to make sure his Panthers don’t fall into that false sense of security.
“You have to respect everyone you play these days,” the coach said. “I keep reminding them a year ago we were playing a 1-8 team and lost.”
That 1-8 Austin Peay team that helped define the humiliation of Eastern’s 5-7 non-playoff season last year probably was not nearly as potentially dangerous as this Tennessee State team that posted a 20-17 win over then 16th-nationally ranked Eastern Kentucky one week after the Colonels beat EIU.
Plus, a week before that 15-13 loss to Austin Peay determined in the final minute, EIU had been humbled by Tennessee State which had a 24-0 lead on its way to a 45-24 win over the Panthers.
“Last year when we played Tennessee State it was terrible,” Loftman said. “I don’t want to look at it as a payback but we want to show we’re a better team.”
Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
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