2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team
American college football season
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The 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season.[1] Led by 16th-year head coach Bob Spoo, the Panthers compiling an overall record of 8–4 and shared the OVC title with a mark of 5–1 in conference play. They were invited to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoff, where they lost to Western Illinois in the first round.
- Bob Spoo (16th season)
| 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football | |
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OVC co-champion | |
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 9–48 vs. Western Illinois | |
| Conference | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Sports Network | No. 15 |
| Record | 8–4 (5–1 OVC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Roy Wittke (13th season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Roc Bellantoni (1st season) |
| Home stadium | O'Brien Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Eastern Illinois +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Murray State +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Eastern Kentucky | 4 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 24 Southeast Missouri State | 4 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee Tech | 2 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee State | 1 | – | 5 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee–Martin | 0 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Quarterback Tony Romo's efforts earned him the Walter Payton Award given to the most outstanding offensive player in NCAA Division I-AA, now known as NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Despite not being selected at the 2003 NFL draft, Romo later signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent, eventually landing the starting job in 2006 season, and earned four Pro Bowl selections before his retirement in 2016.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 31 | 10:00 p.m. | at Hawaii* | No. 4 | L 36–61 | 39,958 | ||
| September 14 | 1:10 p.m. | at Kansas State* | No. 8 | L 13–63 | 45,642 | ||
| September 21 | 5:00 p.m. | Indiana State | No. 13 | W 26–19 | 8,340 | ||
| September 28 | Illinois State | No. 13 |
| W 45–10 | 10,731 | [2] | |
| October 5 | at Tennessee Tech | No. 13 | W 35–28 | 10,850 | |||
| October 12 | No. 19 Eastern Kentucky | No. 9 |
| W 25–24 | 8,397 | ||
| October 19 | at Southeast Missouri State | No. 7 | W 44–27 | 9,178 | |||
| November 2 | at Tennessee State | No. 6 | W 54–48 | 7,216 | [3] | ||
| November 9 | Tennessee–Martin | No. 6 |
| W 55–43 | 3,822 | ||
| November 16 | Florida Atlantic* | No. 3 |
| W 47–6 | 3,740 | ||
| November 23 | at Murray State | No. 2 | L 35–37 | 6,112 | [4] | ||
| November 30 | at No. 3 Western Illinois* | No. 10 | L 9–48 | 2,429 | [5] | ||
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Roster
| 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game summaries
Team players in the NFL
No Eastern Illinois players were selected in the 2003 NFL draft.
The following finished their college career in 2002, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.
| Player | Position | First NFL team |
| Tony Romo | Quarterback | Dallas Cowboys |