# 2021 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

The 2021 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Adam Cushing in his third and final season as head coach, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 1–10 with a mark of 1–5 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the OVC. The team played home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois.

## Preseason
### Preseason coaches' poll

The OVC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 19, 2021. The Panthers were picked to finish in last place.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Murray State | 64 (7) |
| 2 | Austin Peay | 60 (4) |
| | Southeast Missouri | 60 (3) |
| 4 | UT Martin | 38 |
| 5 | Tennessee State | 32 |
| 6 | Tennessee Tech | 28 |
| 7 | Eastern Illinois | 12 |

### Preseason All-OVC team

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

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 28 | 5:00 p.m. | at Indiana State* | Memorial StadiumTerre Haute, IN | ESPN+ | L 21–26 | 5,540 |
| September 4 | 6:00 p.m. | at South Carolina* | Williams–Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | ESPN+/SECN+ | L 0–46 | 64,868 |
| September 11 | 12:00 p.m. | at Dayton* | Welcome StadiumDayton, OH | | L 10–17 | 2,008 |
| September 18 | 6:00 p.m. | Illinois State* | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | L 24–31 | 6,424 |
| September 25 | 1:30 p.m. | at Tennessee Tech | Tucker StadiumCookeville, TN | ESPN+ | W 28–14 | 3,125 |
| October 2 | 4:00 p.m. | at Murray State* | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | L 6–22 | 9,502 |
| October 16 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 17 UT Martin | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | L 17–28 | 3,189 |
| October 23 | 2:00 p.m. | Tennessee State | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | L 0–28 | 6,300 |
| October 30 | 1:00 p.m. | at Southeast Missouri State | Houck StadiumCape Girardeau, MO | ESPN+ | L 15–38 | 3,773 |
| November 6 | 2:00 p.m. | at Austin Peay | Fortera StadiumClarksville, TN | ESPN+ | L 26–42 | 4,088 |
| November 20 | 12:00 p.m. | Murray State | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | L 13–20 | 1,850 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at South Carolina

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eastern Illinois | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 15 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 46 |
at Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, South Carolina
* Date: Saturday, September 4, 2021
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Clear • Temperature -
* Game attendance: 64,868
* TV announcers (SECN+): Unknown
* Box Score
| Statistics | EIU | SC |
| First downs | 9 | 22 |
| Plays–yards | 44–109 | 74–439 |
| Rushes–yards | 31 | 254 |
| Passing yards | 78 | 185 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 13–22–2 | 18–27–0 |
| Time of possession | 25:20 | 34:40 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| EIU | Passing | Chris Katrenick | 13/22, 78 yards, 2 INT |
| EIU | Rushing | Harrison Bey-Bule | 5 carries, 12 yards |
| EIU | Receiving | Tyler Hamilton | 5 receptions, 32 yards |
| SC | Passing | Zeb Noland | 13/21, 121 yards, 4 TD |
| SC | Rushing | ZaQuandre White | 12 carries, 128 yards, TD |
| SC | Receiving | ZaQuandre White | 4 receptions, 39 yards, TD |