Eastern’s football team is undefeated at O’Brien Field.

Unfortunately, the Panthers remain winless on the road, and with just two more games being played on their home field Eastern needs to solve its road woes in a hurry if it plans on playing deep into November.

Looking at the numbers, the Panthers resemble the high-scoring team that’s on display at O’Brien Field when they are on the road, but the results have not been the same.

The Panthers average a conference-best 55 points per game at home, but those numbers decrease when on the road, averaging 36 points per game.

The 36 points per game average is not the reason for concern.

The Panthers have played two very talented teams on the road in No. 14 Illinois State and an FBS school in Western Michigan.

The loss to Western Michigan was one-sided, but the 54-51 loss to in-state rival Illinois State came in double overtime with both teams combining to total over 1,000 yards of offense.

Looking further into the statistics, the Panthers have been plagued by turnovers when they take to the road.

In Eastern’s three home games it has turned the ball over just six times, all via the fumble.

Junior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s command of the offense at O’Brien Field has been second to none.

He has thrown for 1,215 yards, 15 touchdowns, zero interceptions and has completed 64 percent of his pass attempts while playing in front of Panther Nation.

On the road his numbers have dropped a bit, throwing for 1,040 yards, five touchdowns, seven interceptions and completing 59 percent of his pass attempts.

Although Garoppolo has not matched the level of play he has displayed at home on the road, the major problem for the Panthers lack of success in road games continues to be turnovers.

The Panthers have turned the ball over ten times on the road.

In their most recent loss to Tennessee-Martin the Panthers far outgained the Skyhawks, but five turnovers crushed all hopes of the Panthers leaving Martin, Tenn., with their first road win under first-year head coach Dino Babers.

Outside of the five-turnover debacle against Tennessee-Martin, the Panthers have combined to turn the ball over five times against Western Michigan and Illinois State.

The five turnovers against the Broncos and Redbirds are reasonable, but the main reason for the Panthers winless road record continues to be turnovers.

The three-point loss to Illinois State saw the Panthers committing three turnovers to Illinois State’s one.

Although no one can be sure that the extra possessions would have resulted in points, having the ball two more times in a double overtime game could have had the Panthers leaving Bloomington with a win over their in-state rivals for the first time since the 2008 season.

The Panthers need to solve the turnover problems with three of their last five games coming on the road if they expect to record their first playoff birth since the 2009 season, because an undefeated home record can only get you so far.

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at 581-2812 or jbpottorff@eiu.edu.