Some things to consider following the Eastern football team moved to 4-0 with a victory over Austin Peay Saturday:

The Panthers are now 4-0 for the first time since 1996.

If they defeat two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference Champion Eastern Kentucky Saturday, they will move to 5-0 for the first time since 1995.

But while those numbers are impressive, there are a couple of factors that go into it.

This season is the first time since 1997 the Panthers have not played a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision team in their first four games.

Last season, when the Panthers started 2-2, both of their losses came to FBS schools (Central Michigan and Illinois).

Several other seasons in the 13 years since a 4-0 start, Eastern has lost only to an FBS school in its first four games.

So it’s safe to say the start is a little deceiving, but that’s not taking away from the impressive start, because the Panthers are one of only three OVC teams that has played all of its games against Division I opponents.

While Illinois State and Indiana State are not considered good teams by any means, the wins look a lot more impressive than games against NAIA Division I member Pikeville (which is Tennessee Tech’s only victory), or NAIA Division II school Iowa Wesleyan (who Tennessee Martin beat).

Not scheduling teams like that, which do nothing good for your program in the eyes of those who hand at-large bids in the NCAA playoffs, is a testament to Eastern head coach Bob Spoo and his staff’s decision-making when aligning the team’s opponents.

The tone of the players is different than one might expect after such an impressive start.

Nobody is content, which is another credit to the coaches.

Likewise, many of them are eager for next week’s game against Eastern Kentucky, which will be the team’s biggest test of the season to this point.

“I don’t think anyone’s satisfied,” senior defensive tackle Trevor Frericks said.

“We definitely have a lot of things to work on. We let two teams hang around with us these past two weeks by making mistakes.”

But as Spoo said after Saturday’s victory, “4-0 is all that matters,” and that’s the way the team is approaching it.

So take the record as you wish, but one thing is for sure, they are definitely still hungry for more.

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