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Eastern Illinois At Third Ranked Jacksonville State

Two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Illinois hasn't gone away despite losing all four games of a difficult non-conference schedule. With two more OVC wins, the Panthers will return to the FCS playoffs, this time under first-year coach Kim Dameron.

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Jacksonville State also has a rookie coach in John Grass and only needs to beat EIU to clinch both the OVC title and the conference's automatic playoff bid.

Both teams feature explosive offenses with a multitude of weapons in the skillspositions. Each of EIU's conference wins is by 25 points, and the loss came in overtime at Eastern Kentucky. Jacksonville State has won its last three games by a combined 125-9 - while not allowing a touchdown - and has won eight straight outings since an opening loss at Michigan State.

Dual-threat quarterback Jalen Whitlow has helped take EIU to a higher level since he won the No. 1 job during the season, including 163 straight throws without an interception. He leads the team with 714 rushing yards and has 26 total touchdowns (15 passing, 11 rushing). He's also coming off his best passing performance - 27-for-37 for 312 yards and three touchdowns against Murray State - and has a go-to wide receiver, Adam Drake, who leads the FCS in receiving yards (1,153). Shepard Little and Taylor Duncan are veteran runningbacks to share the workload and keep defenses honest against Whitlow, a transfer from Kentucky.

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