Let Eastern’s football season begin – the real season that is.

Yes, the Panthers are 1-1 this season, but neither of those games mean anything.

Take a look at who Eastern played. In the first game of the season, the Panthers got to christen O’Brien Stadium’s new field turf with a 27-0 win over Division II California (Pa.).

After a week off to rally the troops, head coach Bob Spoo led the Panthers to Columbia, Mo., to take on Division I-A Missouri. The Tigers sent the Panthers back to Charleston with a 37-0 loss and wondering what they gained during the first three weeks of the 2003 season.

Money is one of the biggest things Eastern gained.

The athletic department paid California (Pa.) $20,000 to come to Charleston and received $180,000 from Missouri to go to Columbia for a net profit of $160,000.

On the field, Eastern came away with an education.

In week one, Eastern learned some valuable lessons. The most important lesson being, Andy Vincent is Eastern’s starting quarterback.

When Tony Romo graduated last year and moved onto the Dallas Cowboys, Eastern lost its starting quarterback from the past three years, leaving some big questions about the Panthers’ offense.

In spring practices, Eastern has several candidates for the QB job. Vincent along with red-shirt freshmen Justin Duhai and Ben King were all possibilities. Spoo was also expecting the arrival of Rockford-Boylan prep star Matt Weber, but he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs and then later signed with them spurning Eastern in the proces.

Spoo did add a junior college transfer at the position in Andrew Harris.

By the California (Pa.) game, Spoo had it narrowed down to Vincent and Harris. Vincent outplayed Harris in the game and has established himself as Eastern’s quarterback.

Eastern also gained experience in its two games this season.

While the Panthers answered some big questions against California (Pa.), Missouri toughened the the team up making it ready for the rest of the season.

“Regardless of the division, we got the experience we needed, especially on the offensive line,” Spoo said.

By no means are the Panthers as good as they are going to get this season. In an ideal world teams play their best at the end of the season and Spoo knows it.

Spoo and the Panthers will continue to make the little refinements needed to improve as the season progresses.

“Some positions are still in contention and they should be for the rest of the season,” Spoo said. “You never know what’s going to happen, but hopefully you will find that right combination of players on the field.”

The first two games of Eastern’s season were over before the opening kickoff. This weekend, Panther fans will get to see what their team looks like when it plays other teams from the same league.

In my mind, Eastern is 0-0 right now, but after it takes the field against Illinois State Saturday, the record starts to say something about what type of football team is here in Charleston.