Panther football ranks no higher than fifth in their conference, according to recently released preseason college football magazines.

The Sporting News has Eastern finishing fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference. The magazine picked Murray State to finish first and Jacksonville State to finish second in the conference. Eastern Kentucky, Southeast Missouri, Eastern Illinois, Tennesse-Martin, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay and Tennesse State follow in the polls, respectively.

Lindy’s Football picked the Panthers to finish sixth in the OVC. Jacksonville State is the magazine’s pick to win the conference. Southeast Missouri, Murray State, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee- Martin, Eastern Illinois, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay and Tennessee State fill out the projections

Preseason college football magazines also listed their top 25 Football Championship Subdivision teams for the upcoming season.

Out of the OVC, The Sporting News picked Murray State No. 14 and Jacksonville State as its No. 19.

Lindy’s Football ranked Jacksonville State 11th and Southeast Missouri 16th in their top-25 poll.

The OVC will release its preseason polls on Monday, July 25, at the conference’s annual football media day in Nashville.

The Panthers will play four FCS teams currently ranked in the top 25 by preseason college football magazines.

Eastern plays at Jacksonville State on Sept. 24, in Jacksonville, Ala. The team then plays at Southeast Missouri the next week on Oct. 1 in Cape Girardeau, Mo.. The team will face Murray State on the road on Oct. 15, in Murray, Ky.

The team will finish the 2011 season in Carbondale against Southern Illinois. The Salukis are ranked 12th by The Sporting News.

Athlon Sports projects Northwestern as the fourth-best team out of six in the Legends Division of the newly-restructured Big Ten Conference. The Panthers will face the Wildcats in Evanston on Sept. 10.

The Panthers’ 2011 season will begin on Sept. 1 at home against Illinois State.