Saturday’s football game between Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky came down to the final minutes. The Panthers came within one touchdown of the Colonels with 1 minute, 30 seconds left in the game, but were unable to recover their onside kick. Eastern Kentucky ran out the clock and walked away from O’Brien Stadium with a 28-21 win. They also walked away with the edge in the position breakdown.

Quarterback

Eastern Kentucky’s Allan Holland was 30-of-44 for 321 yards and two touchdowns. He was never sacked and both of his touchdown passes were a result of his scrambling abilities. Holland was forced from the pocket on both touchdowns, but he managed to elude tacklers and complete passes. Eastern Illinois’ Bodie Reeder finished the game 20-of-33 for 247 yards and one touchdown, but it’s how he started the game that made all the difference. Reeder’s first pass attempt bounced several feet in front of his intended target, and another passing attempt on a screen pass ended up being a lateral and a fumble. That fumble led to Eastern Kentucky’s first points on its first of five field goals.

Edge: Eastern Kentucky

Running Back

Eastern Illinois’ Ademola Adeniji rushed for a career-best 186 yards which moved him to 15th place on the Panthers’ all-time rushing list. Adeniji’s longest run of the game, a 73-yard rush featuring several broken tackles, was also his lone touchdown of the game. With injuries to Travorus Bess, Ron Jordan and Norris Smith, Adeniji received almost every carry as Eastern Illinois’ lone healthy back. Bess played a limited role in the game, scoring the Panthers’ last touchdown of the game on a one-yard run. Eastern Kentucky’s Bobby Washington and Mark Dunn combined for 763 yards and seven touchdowns in the Colonels’ first five games. Against Eastern Illinois, Washington and Dunn combined for 54 yards and no touchdowns.

Edge: Eastern Illinois

Wide Receivers

Eastern Kentucky threw the ball more against the Panthers than they had against any team thus far this season, and as a result Colonels’ wide receivers had big games. Quinton Williams had eight receptions for 85 yards and one touchdown, and Kyle Barber had seven receptions for 128 yards and one touchdown. Barber’s 128 receiving yards against the Panthers were three more than he had in his first five games combined. Eastern Illinois’ top receiver was Jason Fisher, who had three receptions for 71 yards and one touchdown. Micah Rucker, the Panthers’ top receiver on the season, was a non-factor against the Colonels. Rucker had just two receptions for 13 yards.

Edge: Eastern Kentucky

Offensive Line

Eastern Illinois had success on the ground. Adeniji is a bruising running back who can bust through would-be tacklers, but he runs inside the tackles. The Panthers’ offensive line did a good job of opening up holes in the line for Adeniji. Eastern Kentucky had success through the air, and not all of Holland’s completions came when he was scrambling. The Colonels’ offensive line provided good pass protection, and Holland was able to sit back in the pocket to find open receivers.

Edge: Draw

Defensive Line

Eastern Illinois’ defensive line stopped a potent Colonels’ rushing attack cold. The Panthers’ line was also able to force Holland out of the pocket on several occasions. What they were unable to do, however, was maintain containment on Holland when he rolled out of the pocket. Eastern Kentucky had containment trouble as well. Adeniji broke several tackles at the line of scrimmage–on his 73-yard run for example–and the Colonels’ defensive line was the main culprit. Neither defensive line was spectacular, but neither line was horrible either.

Edge: Draw

Linebackers

Eastern Kentucky coach Danny Hope said his team ran the ball less against the Panthers because of the play of Eastern Illinois’ defensive line and linebackers. Eastern Illinois middle linebacker Donald Thomas led the Panthers with 11 tackles. Thomas was named the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week because he was instrumental in stopping the Colonels’ potent running game. James Larson, Matt Westrick and Jack Kosinski combined for 18 more tackles for the Panthers. Justin Curry and George Anderson combined for 17 tackles for the Colonels’ and broke up one pass each.

Edge: Eastern Illinois

Secondary

Blown coverage meant one thing for Eastern Illinois’ secondary: they gave up big plays. Barber was all alone on his touchdown catch without a Panther in sight. That happened quite a bit against Eastern Kentucky. Holland had no trouble finding open receivers to throw to. The Colonels’ secondary, on the other hand, shut down Eastern Illinois’ passing attack. When a team’s top receiver has only two catches for 13 yards there must be a reason. Eastern Kentucky cornerback Antwaun Molden covered Rucker most of the game. Molden’s size–he stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 195 pounds–meant Eastern Kentucky could play a physical cornerback on Rucker, who is a big, physical receiver.

Edge: Eastern Kentucky

Special Teams

Eastern Illinois returner John Gadson returned the first three kicks for the Panthers. Gadson’s first return was fine, as he returned it for almost 30 yards. Gadson’s next to returns were not as good. On the second return, he stepped out of bounds and back in before recovering the kick, and on the third return he tracked the ball toward the sideline, caught it and stepped out of bounds. Gadson didn’t return another kick after that. Panthers’ kicker Tyler Wilke also had a rough day, missing two field goals wide to the right. Eastern Kentucky’s special teams were nearly perfect. The Colonels completed all five of their field goal attempts–Taylor Logan had four–and their kick returners provided good field position throughout the game.

Edge: Eastern Kentucky

Coaches

Hope saw his team was getting nowhere on the ground and devoted the majority of his game plan to throwing the football. That adjustment was the difference in the Colonels’ victory. Eastern Illinois coach Bob Spoo was right in relying on Adeniji as the primary part of the Panthers’ offense, but two quarterback keepers by Reeder with the Panthers in a five-receiver formation yielded nothing. One of these keepers, early in the fourth quarter on third and goal, was stopped short of the end zone, and Wilke missed the ensuing field goal.

Edge: Eastern Kentucky