# 2023 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

The 2023 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Big South–OVC Football Association during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Chris Wilkerson, the Panthers played home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois.

## Preseason
### Preseason coaches' poll

The Big South-OVC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 25, 2023. The Panthers were picked to finish in eighth place.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Southeast Missouri | 96 (6) |
| 2 | Gardner-Webb | 86 (2) |
| 3 | UT Martin | 85 (1) |
| 4 | Tennessee Tech | 58 (1) |
| 5 | Tennessee State | 57 |
| 6 | Bryant | 48 |
| 7 | Lindenwood | 45 |
| 8 | Eastern Illinois | 33 |
| 9 | Charleston Southern | 30 |
| 10 | Robert Morris | 12 |

### Preseason Watchlist

The Panthers had ten players selected to the preseason Big South-OVC watchlist.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 5:00 p.m. | at Indiana State* | Memorial StadiumTerre Haute, IN | ESPN+ | W 27–0 | 4,355 |
| September 9 | 1:00 p.m. | at Bowling Green* | Doyt Perry StadiumBowling Green, OH | ESPN+ | L 15–38 | 12,312 |
| September 16 | 2:00 p.m. | Illinois State* | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL (Mid-America Classic) | ESPN+ | W 14–13 | 6,602 |
| September 23 | 2:00 p.m. | McNeese* | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | W 31–28 | 6,565 |
| September 30 | 6:00 p.m. | at Northwestern State* | Harry Turpin StadiumNatchitoches, LA | ESPN+ | W 19–10 | 6,021 |
| October 7 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 18 UT Martin | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | L 27–28 $^{OT}$ | 8,078 |
| October 14 | 2:00 p.m. | at Southeast Missouri State | Houck StadiumCape Girardeau, MO | ESPN+ | L 28–35 | 7,263 |
| October 21 | 2:00 p.m. | Bryant | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | W 25–24 $^{OT}$ | 3,690 |
| November 4 | 2:00 p.m. | at Lindenwood | Harlen C. Hunter StadiumSt. Charles, MO | ESPN+ | W 16–10 | 3,788 |
| November 11 | 12:00 p.m. | Tennessee State | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | W 30–17 | 3,423 |
| November 18 | 11:00 a.m. | at Robert Morris | Joe Walton StadiumMoon Township, PA | ESPN+ | W 28–14 | 2,118 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at Bowling Green

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eastern Illinois | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| Bowling Green | 7 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
at Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH
* Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 72 °F (22 °C) • Wind: NE 8 mph (13 km/h)
* Game attendance: 12,312
* Referee: Phil Hicks
* TV announcers (ESPN+): David Wilson and Bob Gennarelli
| Statistics | Eastern Illinois | Bowling Green |
| First downs | 20 | 25 |
| Plays–yards | 59-325 | 64-509 |
| Rushes–yards | 26–75 | 34–141 |
| Passing yards | 250 | 368 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 21–33–1 | 25-30-0 |
| Time of possession | 29:48 | 30:12 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Eastern Illinois | Passing | Pierce Holley | 21/32, 250 yards, 2 TDS, 1 INT |
| Eastern Illinois | Rushing | Kevin Daniels | 15 carries, 78 yards |
| Eastern Illinois | Receiving | DeAirious Smith | 4 receptions, 83 yards, TD |
| Bowling Green | Passing | Connor Bazelak | 23/28, 319 yards, 3 TDS |
| Bowling Green | Rushing | Terion Stewart | 10 carries, 51 yards, 2 TDS |
| Bowling Green | Receiving | Ta'ron Keith | 6 receptions, 123 yards |

### at Northwestern State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 3 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 19 |
| Demons | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at Harry Turpin Stadium, Natchitoches, Louisiana
* Date: September 30
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 91 °F (33 °C)
* Game attendance: 6,021
* Referee: Gary Leeper
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Killian McClatchley, Jake DeLongchamps, and Justin Biegel
| Statistics | EIU | NWST |
| First downs | 18 | 19 |
| Total yards | 349 | 350 |
| Rushing yards | 75 | 69 |
| Passing yards | 274 | 281 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 28:25 | 31:35 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Eastern Illinois | Passing | Pierce Holley | 19/37, 274 yards, TD |
| Eastern Illinois | Rushing | M. J. Flowers | 15 rushes, 48 yards |
| Eastern Illinois | Receiving | Justin Bowick | 4 receptions, 130 yards, TD |
| Northwestern State | Passing | Quaterius Hawkins | 27/44, 281 yards, INT |
| Northwestern State | Rushing | Scooter Adams | 9 rushes, 29 yards |
| Northwestern State | Receiving | Zach Patterson | 7 receptions, 74 yards |