Tennessee State comes into Eastern’s Homecoming, facing a different Panthers’ team that defeated the Tigers twice last season, but the matchup is still similar.

Rod Reed does not have to worry about Jimmy Garoppolo beating him, starting at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at O’Brien Field, but the Tennessee State coach does go up against a strong running attack from Eastern.

“They’re a physical football team up front,” Reed said. “Last year they were a bit more finesse and were able to run the ball because they were able to spread you out and threw the ball. Now, they can line down and they can just grind it out.”

At 2-5 overall and 2-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Panthers feature the league’s No. 1 rushing game, averaging 339.3 yards per game. That is 46 more yards than Jacksonville State, which has the second-best average.

Eastern isn’t only achieving success through the ground with its running backs, as junior quarterback Jalen Whitlow leads the Panthers in rushing with 558 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.

“They got two or three backs that they can throw at you and the quarterback is one of the leading rushers in the conference,” Reed said. “Whitlow is very good at running and throwing the ball. They propose a big challenge for our defense.”

Reed’s defense is the best in the OVC and despite the Tigers’ 1-3 conference record, Tennessee State is only allowing 16.2 points per game this season.

Eastern coach Kim Dameron has his defense rolling, especially after the Panthers shutout Southeast Missouri in the second half of their previous game, while forcing five turnovers. The Panthers’ offense is not as clear and dry as it was last year and Dameron said that makes it difficult to game plan for.

“We’re much more of a run-oriented offense,” Dameron said. “Our quarterback is a runner that can throw. We want to be really balanced. I feel that we’re a better all around maybe offense or maybe a little harder to defend. But the numbers they put up last year, it’s a completely different style.”

When both teams met in the regular season a year ago, Tennessee State had a top-three defense in the FCS, while Eastern sported the nation’s No. 1 offense. On Saturday, the Tigers come in with the No. 3 overall defense in the country, while the Panthers rank No. 12 in the FCS on offense.

Dameron said he has been pleased with the balanced attack in recent weeks, not only with gaining yards, but scoring points, which Eastern struggled to do during the early part of the season. Now, though, the Panthers have the No. 1 scoring offense in the OVC, averaging 49.3 points in their three games.

The credit for the success goes all around, as Eastern’s defense has allowed an average of 18.7 points, which is No. 1 in the OVC during league play. Offensively, Whitlow has been able to grasp the offense firmly and since becoming the outright starter the Kentucky transfer has led the Panthers’ to 561.7 yards per game.

The turnovers have been reduced, as Whitlow has not thrown an interception in four games. The offensive line has only allowed three sacks in three OVC games, but Dameron knows that Tennessee State’s defense will present a new challenge for the Panthers.

“They have a defensive player of the year coming back, a leading tackler at Mike linebacker, they have corners that can play anywhere in America, they have a safety that I recruited at Ole Miss and they have another one that is first-team All-conference,” Dameron said. “Their defense is an All-Star group.”

Whitlow will be in charge of figuring out the challenge of the Tigers’ talented defensive group, but Dameron said the quarterback is up to the task.

“We’re asking him to make a lot of decisions and he’s becoming more and more comfortable with the decisions that we’re asking him to make,” he said. “He’s allowing now, his athleticism to take over a little bit. I think he’s just scratching the surface right now.”

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or asoto2@eiu.edu.