Tonight’s game between the Eastern football team and Illinois State will not factor into either team’s conference standings.

It’s a non-conference game that will finish with one team 1-0 and the other 0-1.

But for the Panthers and Redbirds, this game means a lot more than most regular season, non-conference season openers. But that’s not a surprise, considering this will be the 98th meeting between two teams located less than two hours from each other.

“You want to win every game, there’s no doubt about that,” Eastern’s ninth-year defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni said. “ISU players have always downplayed the rivalry, but from our standpoint it’s an in-state feel, we’re competing for bragging rights and we compete with them in recruiting every year.”

Eastern senior starting strong safety Adrian Arrington is a Bloomington native, and Arrington’s secondary mate and friend, junior cornerback C.J. James, said anytime he’s over at Arrington’s house in Bloomington, trash talking is bound to happen.

“We’ll always be over there and (Arrington’s) dad will be wearing all ISU gear,” James said. “He said he does it to pump us up for the game.”

James, who is from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., said he gets excited to face Illinois State even though he’s not from Illinois.

“It’s not like we’re playing somebody we don’t have anything in common with,” James said. “We basically feud all year long.”

Illinois State head coach Brock Spack, who is in his first year as the Redbirds’ head coach after spending 12 years as defensive coordinator at Purdue, likened it to a rivalry he is pretty familiar with.

“I attribute it to the Purdue-Notre Dame rivalry,” Spack said. “Both rivalries are between teams not in the same conference, but it still has to be played. They’ve played each other for a long time and there’s pride in the game. It should be fun.”

The rivalry gives both teams a little extra motivation going in, not that most teams would need extra motivation going into a season opener. But while the Panthers and Redbirds face off virtually every year, this will be the first time since 1988 that they open their respective seasons against each other.

A loss by either program won’t make the season a lost cause. After all, there are still 10 regular season games left after today. But today’s outcome can go a long way toward giving these teams momentum the rest of the way.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.