Sure Eastern’s getting $250,000 to take a pounding this weekend at Kansas State.

But what about suffering and the risk of losing a key player that would put the Panthers out of the hunt for the Ohio Valley Conference title?

How much would the Wildcats pay for Eastern’s pain and suffering.

Panther head coach Bob Spoo is no personal injury lawyer, but he’s got all that taken care of.

As was the case in Hawaii last weekend, health will be Spoo’s No. 1 concern.

“They’re a very physical team and that’s a big concern for us,” Spoo said. “They play with a high level of intensity.”

Sophomore split end Brandon Robinson is questionable for Saturday’s 1:10 p.m. game in Manhattan, Kan. Sophomore cornerback Vince Lewis won’t be traveling with the team because he has a pulled stomach. Senior cornerback Obinno Coley is also staying home with a back injury.

Spoo doesn’t want to add any more to that list.

But that’s not all Spoo is worried about. A bruised morale is an injury that can’t be healed by any trainer and it’s something the Panthers could face after suffering a pair of blowout losses to start the season.

“If we start out 0-2 and win out and don’t get a home game because we weren’t high enough in the rankings then so be it,” Spoo said. “That’s just the way the cards fell and there isn’t much we can do about it.”

The Panthers can control the ball. Eastern was successful for one quarter against Hawaii at accomplishing that goal. The Warriors trailed 6-3 after one period before a 30-3 run.

“Hawaii was an anomaly,” Spoo said. “We controlled the ball and then we got our fannies kicked because we made mistakes. That’s what we’ve got to do this weekend – we’ve got to stop the big plays. We gave up big plays in every aspect.”

Spoo expects an attack from every angle at Kansas State. Hawaii threw a more one-dimensional passing offense at Eastern. The Wildcats have a refined, balanced attack that covers special teams. The Warriors made fair catches on most Panther punts. Spoo doesn’t expect Kansas State to follow suit.

“They really get after you on those punts,” Spoo said. “So we’ve been working on that and we’ve got a plan to make sure our punt coverage is ready and we have good special teams play.”

Whatever the outcome at Kansas State, the Panthers are gearing up for the OVC schedule.

“After this game it is sort of another season,” Spoo said. “We want to win the league title outright – that’s always been our No. 1 goal and so we’ll come back next week and start working toward that.”