2006 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

The 2006 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by interim head coach Mark Hutson, as head coach Bob Spoo was unable to coach for medical reasons, and played their home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois. The Panthers finished the season with an 8–5 record overall and a 7–1 mark in conference play, sharing the OVC title with Tennessee–Martin. The team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they lost to Illinois State in the first round.[1] Eastern Illinois was ranked No. 15 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of NCAA Division I FCS teams.[2]

2006 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
OVC co-champion
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 15
Record8–5 (7–1 OVC)
Head coach
Home stadiumO'Brien Field
Seasons
← 2005
2007 →
2006 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 15 Eastern Illinois +^   7 1     8 5  
No. 13 Tennessee–Martin +^   6 1     9 3  
Tennessee State   5 2     6 5  
Jacksonville State   5 3     6 5  
Eastern Kentucky   5 3     6 5  
Tennessee Tech   4 4     4 7  
Southeast Missouri State   2 6     4 7  
Samford   1 7     3 8  
Murray State   0 8     1 10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule edit

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 2at Illinois*No. 14L 17–4245,444[3]
September 9Indiana State*No. 20W 31–217,517[4]
September 16at Illinois State*No. 18L 30–4412,512[5]
September 23at SamfordNo. 20W 24–135,355[6]
September 30at Hawaii*No. 20L 9–4429,358[7]
October 7Southeast Missouri StateNo. 20
  • O'Brien Field
  • Charleston, IL
W 21–010,215[8]
October 14at Eastern KentuckyNo. 16W 28–2110,100[9]
October 21Murray StateNo. 17
  • O'Brien Field
  • Charleston, IL
W 20–109,422[10]
October 28at No. 12 Tennessee–MartinNo. 14L 9–156,935[11]
November 4Tennessee StateNo. 20
  • O'Brien Field
  • Charleston, IL
W 29–35,912[12]
November 11at Tennessee TechNo. 20W 38–142,268[13]
November 18Jacksonville StateNo. 17
  • O'Brien Field
  • Charleston, IL
W 28–241,224[14]
November 25No. 11 Illinois State*No. 14
L 13–244,400[15]

References edit

  1. ^ "Football Record Book" (PDF). Eastern Illinois University Athletics. p. 52. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Division I-AA Poll". The Greenville News. Greenville, South Carolina. December 19, 2006. p. 5C. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Albright, Mike (September 3, 2006). "Illini get carried away". Herald and Review. p. C1. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Donato leads EIU march back". Herald and Review. Associated Press. September 10, 2006. p. C7. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Reinhardt, Randy (September 17, 2006). "Redbirds Go On The Offensive". The Pantagraph. p. D1. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Webb rushes Eastern Illinois past Samford". The Paducah Sun. Associated Press. September 24, 2006. p. 4B. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Tsai, Stephen (October 1, 2006). "Early knockout". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. W1. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Eastern Illinois defense earns a shutout victory". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. October 8, 2006. p. D2. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Colonels can't overcome early 28-0 deficit". Messenger-Inquirer. Associated Press. October 15, 2006. p. 5B. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Smith leads Eastern Illinois over Murray State". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. October 22, 2006. p. D3. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "UT-Martin cuts down Eastern Ill". The Commercial Appeal. October 29, 2006. p. CF7. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Webb leads Eastern Illinois to solid win over Tennessee State". The Anniston Star. Associated Press. November 5, 2006. p. 3C. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Eastern climbs back into OVC race; Redbirds saw down Sycamores". Herald and Review. Associated Press. November 12, 2006. p. C9. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Panthers claim share of crown with comeback". Herald and Review. November 19, 2006. p. C5. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Nielsen, Brian (November 26, 2006). "Redbirds Bring Panthers Down From High In Playoffs". Herald and Review. p. C8. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.