Saturday afternoon we’ll see just what the Panther football team’s offense is made of. The first game of the season was a cake walk in which Eastern scored 44 points with ease and quarterback Tony Romo was a perfect 16-for-16 passes.

Then came the cancelation of the Illinois State game in wake of the terrorist tragedies on the East Coast. The past two weeks have been difficult for teams across the country as they have tried to block out visions of horror and get back to what was most important – football.

Both Eastern Kentucky and the Panthers had difficulty getting their offenses in sync after the two-week layoff. The Colonels had a little bit of an easier time on offense, out-playing the Panthers in nearly every category except the one that counted – the score.

Eastern had just 12 first downs to EKU’s 18. The Colonels out-rushed and out-passed the Panthers, while Eastern also comitted more turnovers. Quarterback Tony Romo didn’t have an easy day at the office as he was 13-for-23 passing with two interceptions while being sacked four times.

These inconsistencies reflected a difficult two weeks of practice.

“We had the worst week of practice,” Romo said. “Going out there every day and practicing knowing that people had died and there are people out there searching for others was tough.”

Wide receiver Frank Cutolo shared Romo’s sentiments following the game.

“We had a rough week of practice, that might have been part of it,” Cutolo said of Saturday’s inconsistent play after the game. “I’m not going to make excuses, but we didn’t have a very good week of practice and I think it showed.”

It’s understandable that a talented opponent combined with difficulty practicing would have an effect on an offense’s performance. But this Saturday is a different story.