The 2012 season had the Panthers exceeding expectations under first-year head coach Dino Babers, as they claimed an Ohio Valley Conference championship and advanced to the FCS Playoffs for the 14th time in school history despite being picked to finish second to last in the preseason polls.

The Panthers’ memorable season had them becoming just the fourth team in OVC history to record a worst-to-first finish, claiming the automatic bid to represent the OVC in the playoffs.

Eastern’s season culminated with a 58-10 loss to South Dakota State in the first round of the playoffs, but program, conference and NCAA record books were rewritten leading up to their first round playoff exit.

Best Games

Aug. 30 – Eastern played host to in-state rival Southern Illinois-Carbondale to open up the New Era of Eastern football.

The Panthers and the Salukis played to an even first half with the Panthers taking a 28-21 lead into intermission, but a 21-point third quarter had Eastern taking control of the game and securing its first win in the Dino Babers era.

The Panthers were led by Garoppolo’s 369 passing yards and five touchdowns.

Sept. 15 – The 101st meeting of the Mid-America Classic had Eastern traveling to Bloomington to take on Illinois State in the highest scoring game in the history of the Mid-America Classic.

The Panthers and the Redbirds played to a 54-51 double overtime thriller that had Eastern falling three points short to its in-state rival.

Illinois State quarterback Matt Brown led the overtime win, throwing for a career-best 473 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.

Sept. 22 – Fresh off a double overtime loss to Illinois State, the Panthers opened up conference play with a 50-49 overtime win that had Eastern defeating Murray State on a last-second two-point conversion.

The two-point conversion came on a gutsy call by Dino Babers that had red-shirt junior wide receiver Erik Lora throwing the game-winning pass to fellow wide receiver Von Wise in the front corner of the end zone.

The win had the Panthers rushing the field, pouring water on the back of Babers and celebrating their first conference win in the New Era.

Oct. 13 – A Homecoming matchup between Eastern and Jacksonville State proved to be a back-and-forth affair that had the Panthers scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter to come away with a 31-28 win.

Eastern was led by red-shirt senior running back Jake Walker’s 103 rushing yards and a touchdown and a pick-six by junior defensive back Tavares Crawford.

Oct. 27 – The Panthers traveled to Richmond, Ky., to take on a nationally ranked Eastern Kentucky team.

The Panthers were searching for their first road win of the season and returned to Charleston with a 24-7 win over No. 18 Eastern Kentucky.

The Panthers were led by a strong defensive showing that had them totaling five sacks and limiting Walter Payton Award watch list nominee Matt Denham to 95 rushing yards.

It was Eastern’s first win over a ranked opponent since the 2009 season.

Nov. 10 – Senior Day at O’Brien Field had Eastern hosting Southeast Missouri in a game that had the Panthers celebrating an outright Ohio Valley Conference regular season title.

The Panthers jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back on their way to a 39-20 win.

The Panthers were led by Walker’s 132 rushing yards, Garoppolo’s 257 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, along with Lora’s 178 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Top Performers

Red-shirt junior wide receiver Erik Lora turned in one of the best statistical seasons in NCAA history.

Lora posted an FCS record 136 receptions to go along with a career-best 1,664 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.

Lora also led the nation in receptions, receptions per game, receiving yards, and receiving yards per game.

Lora’s best performance of the season came against OVC rival Murray State, when he totaled 269 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 21 receptions.

His 21 receptions set an OVC record for receptions in a game, and his 269-yard, three-touchdown effort set career highs in both categories.

Lora’s career year had him claiming the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year award, an OVC first-team selection, and had him being named as a finalist for the Walter Payton Award for the top FCS player in the nation.

Junior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo joined Lora on the Walter Payton Award watch list as he also ranked as one of the best in the nation at his respective position. Garoppolo threw for an OVC record 3,823 passing yards to go along with 31 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Garoppolo’s most memorable performance came in a win against Austin Peay where he threw for a career-high 453 yards and five touchdowns while adding 48 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Each of his five touchdown passes came on passes of 50 yards or more as he connected with Chris Wright from 66 yards and 63 yards out, Keiondre Gober from 66 yards and 56 yards, and Lora from 50 yards out.

Along with the top two offensive performers, senior defensive end Artavious Dowdell and sophomore linebacker Robert Haynes led the Panther defense.

Dowdell recorded a career-best 58 tackles to go with an OVC-best 7.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss.

The Belle Glade, Fla., native also added four pass breakups, eight quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Haynes saw consistent playing time for the first time in his collegiate career, totaling a team-best 101 tackles to go with 6.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, three pass breakups, two quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

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