Eastern’s playoff hopes have been well chronicled at this point.

Its chances of winning the Ohio Valley Conference have been written about over and over again, the numerous scenarios calculated and played out, but getting to the playoffs is not the only goal.

Winning once they get there is the Panthers’ ultimate goal, but they shouldn’t be worried about that.

The Panthers showed at Tennessee Tech that they are ready for post-season play, and if its loss to Tennessee-Martin does not hold them back, Eastern will be a cause for concern for the others teams in the playoffs.

Eastern showed in consecutive wins against Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech it learned from its loss to Tennessee-Martin and has improved its play.

In particular, the defense has stepped up the past two weeks, controlling TSU tailback Javarris Williams and completely shutting down Tennessee Tech in the second half. Eastern has won its last two games by a combined score of 67-17, and the Panthers are putting everything together at the right time.

After the win at Tech, defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni said he told his team to not worry about what it cannot control.

The Panthers have done that to this point.

If for some reason one of the scenarios plays out and Eastern does not make it to the playoffs, the Panthers have made a strong case for an at-large bid with their ferocious play the last two weekends.

The most likely opponent for the Panthers in the first round would be a Gateway Football Conference school like Illinois State or Southern Illinois.

Youngstown State already wrapped up the Gateway’s automatic bid, but the No. 6-ranked Redbirds and No. 11-ranked Salukis are a shoe-in for at-large bids.

The Gateway is a respected conference and sent two teams, Northern Iowa and SIU, to the playoffs last season.

Either way, the Panthers would love to have a re-match with both teams. Eastern would love to get revenge against Carbondale for sending the Panthers home after the first round of last year’s playoffs and against Illinois State for defeating them earlier this season in Normal.

It is a shame Eastern’s campus will be empty when the Panthers play this weekend.

But I doubt the players will even notice, with the seniors playing for a chance to put the pads on at least one more time and to make it back to the playoffs for the second year in a row, something that has seemed like a forgone conclusion all year.

Enough people have talked about all the different ways Eastern can or can’t advance to the post-season.

But the Panthers know that if they do make it and play the way they have the past two weeks, they are a team to be reckoned with.

Joe Waltasti is a senior history major. He can be reached at www.jwal717@yahoo.com.