BROOKINGS — The Eastern Illinois Panthers, South Dakota State’s next opponent, has been to Brookings once before.
It did not go well for them.
Despite the best efforts of future highest-paid-player in the NFL Jimmy Garoppolo (seriously, he was for awhile), the Panthers were smashed 58-10 by the Jackrabbits in the 2012 FCS playoffs.
Zach Zenner had 295 of SDSU’s 434 rushing yards, with current Jackrabbit tight ends coach Vince Benedetto doing some of the lead blocking.
It was a historic day for the Jackrabbits, as that was the first home playoff game in program history. They were in the early stages of becoming the FCS power they are known as today.
But for EIU, their peak years as a program are behind them.
A regular playoff contender under longtime coach Bob Spoo (including three straight playoff berths from 2000-2002 behind quarterback and Walter Payton Award winner Tony Romo), the Panthers went 12-2 the year after they lost to SDSU (with Garoppolo winning the Walter Payton Award) and coach Dino Sabers left for Bowling Green (and later Syracuse).
They’ve only been to the playoffs once since then, in 2015.
More recently, the Panthers went 3-9 in each of the previous two seasons, and are 1-3 so far this year, taking a three-game losing streak into Brookings.
EIU athletics
So given that SDSU has only gotten better and EIU worse since they last played, all signs point to another dominant win for the Jackrabbits on Saturday.
If there’s anything the Panthers have going for them, it’s that they’re overly familiar with Valley teams. SDSU will be their fourth before they start Ohio Valley Conference play. The Panthers beat Murray State 28-14 and lost to Indiana State 42-35 and to Illinois State 49-13 (they also lost to Minnesota 59-7).
“They should be prepared for everything,” Jacks coach Dan Jackson said of the Panthers. “They’ve played teams in our conference, and will understand the physicality and the systems we’ve run, and when they’re preparing for those teams they’ve maybe watched some of our film from last year. They’re gonna be ready to play, they’re not gonna come in here like they’ve never seen guys this big and fast or seen crowds this loud.”
EIU has a pretty good dual threat quarterback in former Wisconsin Badger Cole LaCrue, and running back Charles Kellom, an Akron transfer, has rushed for 299 yards and averages more than six yards per carry. LaCrue rushed for 193 yards in a game last year, a school record for a quarterback. They run behind an offensive line with five starters who are all over 300 pounds but has no seniors.
Eastern Illinois athletics
The Panthers defense has allowed 41 points per game, and in particular they’ve struggled to defend the pass, allowing 305 yards per game through the air. With Josh Holst making his first start for SDSU in the absence of starter Chase Mason, the Jacks should have an opportunity to get Holst and the passing game going.
This is the third game the Jacks (3-1) have hosted this season in which they are heavy favorites, and the first two were not competitive. This one probably shouldn’t be, either, but after last season’s loss to Indiana State, SDSU isn’t going to take anyone lightly. The Panthers, Jackson says, are a credible opponent.
“They’re really athletic,” Jackson said. “They play hard defensively, run to the football are fairly opportunistic and give you a lot of looks. I like their quarterback, he’s very athletic and is able to move in the pocket and extend plays and he can really throw it. They do a lot of good things.”
Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at [email protected].
