Eastern Illinois hosts Illinois State for the 109th Mid-America Classic for the Panthers 2021 home opener.   The rivalry game dates back to 1901 and is the longest FCS rivalry game in the state of Illinois.  The rivalry ranks as the 15th longest among FCS schools and is the eighth longest among non-Ivy League members.  

Punter Logen Neidhardt was named the Ohio Valley Conference Special Teams Player of the Week following his efforts at Dayton.  Neidhardt averaged 52 yards per punt against the Flyers with six total punts.  He had a long punt of 72 yards with one punt pinned inside the 20 and three others going for touchbacks.  On the season Neidhardt, a graduate transfer from Ohio Dominican, ranks 23rd in the FCS in punting at 45.9 yards per punt.  He has five punts over 50 yards and six of sixteen punts have been downed inside the 20-yard line.

Jordan Vincent finished with his second big tackle game on Saturday at Dayton as the second year safety had 12 tackles.   Ten of his twelve tackles were solo stops as Vincent currently ranks 37th in the FCS in solo tackles with 17.   Vincent currently leads the Panthers with 24 tackles and his 8 tackles per game ranks third in the OVC.

Eastern Illinois opens the home season this Saturday after playing three straight on the road to open a season for the first time since 1993.

Eastern Illinois limited Dayton to just 134 yards passing on Saturday as the Panthers have held all three opponents this season to under 175 yards passing.  On the season EIU ranks 10th in the FCS in pass defense allowing 135.3 yards per contest including a low of 87 by Indiana State in the Week Zero contest.  

Redbirds senior punter JT Bohlken was one of the Redbirds' biggest weapons at Western Michigan, as he consistently flipped the field and kept the Broncos at bay with his right leg. Bohlken averaged nearly 50 yards per punt (49.8) and had six punts over 50 yards. 

The Redbird defense had to come up with big plays at Western Michigan, and two of the biggest of the night came on big hits that caused turnovers by the Broncos.