2016 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

The 2016 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Kim Dameron and played their home games at O'Brien Stadium. They were members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). They finished the season 6–5, 4–4 in OVC play to finish in a tie for fifth place.

2016 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
2016 record	6–5 (4–4 OVC)
Head coach	Kim Dameron (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Greg Stevens (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Michael Hodges (1st as DC, 3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	DeMarcus Covington (1st season)
Home stadium	O'Brien Stadium (Capacity: 10,000)

2016 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 6 Jacksonville State $^		7	–	0					10	–	2
UT Martin		6	–	2					7	–	5
Tennessee Tech		5	–	3					5	–	6
Tennessee State		4	–	3					7	–	4
Eastern Illinois		4	–	4					6	–	5
Murray State		4	–	4					4	–	7
SE Missouri State		3	–	5					3	–	8
Eastern Kentucky		2	–	6					3	–	8
Austin Peay		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:00 pm	No. 20 Western Illinois*		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	WEIU	L 21–38	7,618
September 10	2:30 pm	at Miami (OH)*		Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	ESPN3	W 21–17	17,369
September 17	2:00 pm	at No. 5 Illinois State*		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL (Mid-America Classic)	CSNCH	W 24–21	13,391
September 24	1:00 pm	Austin Peay	No. 18	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	WEIU	W 56–35	6,169
October 1	6:00 pm	at Southeast Missouri State	No. 13	Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO	OVCDN	L 14–21	4,892
October 8	6:00 pm	Tennessee State	No. 19	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	WEIU	W 35–34	4,319
October 15	6:00 pm	at Tennessee Tech	No. 18	Tucker Stadium Cookeville, TN	OVCDN	W 30–24	4,082
October 22	1:00 pm	Murray State	No. 15	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	WEIU	L 38–40	7,907
October 29	2:00 pm	at No. 2 Jacksonville State	No. 23	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN3	L 14–47	21,655
November 5	1:00 pm	Tennessee–Martin		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	WEIU	L 17–33	3,054
November 19	1:00 pm	at Eastern Kentucky		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	OVCDN	W 24–0	3,100
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

Western Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
#20 Leathernecks	14	10	7	7	38
Panthers	7	0	14	0	21

at Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	7	0	14	21
RedHawks	3	7	7	0	17

at Illinois State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	3	7	7	7	24
#5 Redbirds	0	0	7	14	21

Austin Peay

	1	2	3	4	Total
Governors	0	14	7	14	35
#18 Panthers	14	7	14	21	56

at Southeast Missouri State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#13 Panthers	7	0	7	0	14
Redhawks	14	0	7	0	21

Tennessee State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	3	10	14	7	34
#19 Panthers	14	7	7	7	35

at Tennessee Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
#18 Panthers	0	13	14	3	30
Golden Eagles	3	14	0	7	24

Murray State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Racers	3	13	6	18	40
#15 Panthers	21	0	3	14	38

at Jacksonville State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#23 Panthers	0	7	0	7	14
#2 Gamecocks	21	10	9	7	47

Tennessee–Martin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Skyhawks	6	7	3	17	33
Panthers	0	7	3	7	17

at Eastern Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	7	7	10	24
Colonels	0	0	0	0	0

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV	RV	RV	18	13	19	18	15	23	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	16	13	20	17	15	22	24	NR	NR	NR	NR

References