On a day where Eastern will be celebrating a past season to remember, the Panthers will be trying to finish off a season that has been disappointing.

The good news is the Panthers will be facing a Tennessee Tech team, which they’ve experienced recent success against and is having a lackluster 2003 campaign as well. The Golden Eagles have lost four straight contests and rank 100th out of 121 schools in scoring defense, giving up 30 points per game.

The Panthers have won six of the last seven against Tennessee Tech, but all of them have been decided by 11 points or less.

“It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a high scoring game or defensive struggle, they have all been close,” Eastern head coach Bob Spoo said. “I can’t imagine that it will be any different this weekend.”

Offense

Eastern’s offense fails to rank higher than 74th in any category which has obviously hindered its ability to put points on the scoreboard.

Eastern quarterback Andrew Harris is only averaging nearly 108 yards passing per game with only a total of two touchdowns through the air.

In last week’s loss to Tennessee State, the Panthers only managed seven points offensively, but Spoo was pleased with the overall effort in his inexperienced offense which started a third-string true freshman at tailback.

“We played with a lot of emotion at Tennessee State, so I’m proud of our effort against one of the best teams in the league,” Spoo said.

Panther fans would be shocked if they were told red-shirt freshman Vincent Webb would be leading the squad in rushing.

The St. Louis native has out-rushed preseason All-America candidate Andre Raymond by 136 yards but Webb and Raymond have both battled nagging injuries throughout the season.

“We were forced to start (freshman running back) Ademola Adeniji because of injuries to our backfield,” Spoo said.

The Golden Eagles were confident going into the season with none of the 11 starters on offense being juniors or seniors but quarterback Robert Craft was injured in the fifth game.

“I think the big key with them has been the loss of their quarterback because he handled so much,” Spoo said.

Head coach Mike Hennigan has gone with a two-quarterback system with sophomore Darrius Mohn and freshman Joey Bailey.

Tennessee Tech is second in the Ohio Valley Conference in rushing with 171 yards per game. The tailback attack is led by senior Jason Ballard who is averaging 81.6 yards per game, which is third highest in the OVC.

Advantage: Tennessee Tech

Defense

The Panthers are giving up 351 yards and nearly 23 points per game and will have to seal up a rushing defense that is allowing 154 yards on the ground.

“If we can maintain the intensity throughout the way, we’re confident we’ll finish on a strong note,” Spoo said.

The Panthers are 0-6 when they allow 21 points or more so it will hope to keep its defense out of difficult situations early in the game.

The key for the Panthers defense will be to create turnovers against Tennessee Tech which will turn the tables and relieve the pressure on Bellantoni’s crew.

Inside linebacker Fred Miller continues to be listed as inactive due to a severe knee injury.

As bad as the Panthers’ defense happens to be playing, the Golden Eagles are worse, much worse.

Tennessee Tech has allowed more than 30 points to five of the eight teams it has played and is last in the OVC in almost every statistically category.

Advantage: Eastern

Final Score: Eastern Illinois 24, Tennessee Tech 20