Eastern senior cornerback Adrian Arrington looks to referee for a signal after red-shirt junior safety Seymour Loftman helps assist tackling senior Illini receiver Will Judson. The pass was ruled a catch. The Panthers have played bigger schools to prepare

Eastern received $300,000 to play Illinois on Saturday in Champaign. Add in the $225,000 from Central Michigan and the Eastern athletic department brought in more than half a million dollars to play two Football Bowl Subdivision Teams. But on Saturday after the Panthers’ 47-21 loss to Illinois, Eastern head coach Bob Spoo didn’t talk about the money Eastern received. Instead he focused on the experience his team got in playing a Top 25 team.

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