# 2022 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

The 2022 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Panthers were led by first-year head coach Chris Wilkerson and played home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois.

## Preseason
### Preseason coaches' poll

The OVC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 19, 2022. The Panthers were picked to finish in second to last place.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | UT Martin | 70 (10) |
| 2 | Southeast Missouri | 59 (3) |
| 3 | Murray State | 51 |
| 4 | Tennessee State | 46 (1) |
| 5 | Tennessee Tech | 29 |
| 6 | Eastern Illinois | 20 |
| 7 | Lindenwood | 19 |

### Preseason All-OVC team

The Panthers had six players selected to the preseason all-OVC team.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 7:00 p.m. | at Northern Illinois* | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN+ | L 27–34 | 10,864 |
| September 10 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 11 Chattanooga* | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | L 20–38 | 6,565 |
| September 17 | 6:30 p.m. | at Illinois State* | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL (Mid-America Classic) | Marquee | L 7–35 | 8,208 |
| September 24 | 4:00 p.m. | at Murray State | Roy Kidd StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | W 35–21 | 10,112 |
| October 8 | 2:00 p.m. | Northwestern State* | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | W 35–27 | 3,153 |
| October 15 | 2:00 p.m. | Lindenwood | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | L 34–37 $^{2OT}$ | 6,875 |
| October 22 | 2:00 p.m. | at Tennessee State | Hale StadiumNashville, TN | ESPN+ | L 17–37 | 6,237 |
| October 29 | 2:00 p.m. | Tennessee Tech | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | L 17–20 | 5,817 |
| November 5 | 7:00 p.m. | at McNeese State* | Cowboy StadiumLake Charles, LA | ESPN+ | L 15–29 | 7,520 |
| November 12 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 20 Southeast Missouri State | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | L 7–31 | 1,831 |
| November 19 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 25 UT Martin | Graham StadiumMartin, TN | ESPN+ | L 31–34 | 3,003 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||
Source:

## Game summaries
### At Northern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 3 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 27 |
| Huskies | 7 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 34 |

### No. 11 Chattanooga

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Mocs | 7 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 38 |
| Panthers | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 20 |

### At Illinois State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Redbirds | 7 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 35 |

### Murray State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 14 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 35 |
| Racers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

### Northwestern State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Demons | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
| Panthers | 21 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 35 |

### Lindenwood

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
| Lions | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 37 |
| Panthers | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 34 |

### At Tennessee State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 17 |
| Tigers | 3 | 24 | 0 | 10 | 37 |

### Tennessee Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 20 |
| Panthers | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 |

### At McNeese State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 15 |
| Cowboys | 10 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 29 |

### No. 20 Southeast Missouri State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 20 Redhawks | 0 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 31 |
| Panthers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### At No. 25 UT Martin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 17 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| No. 25 Skyhawks | 14 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 34 |