• ESPN3 Information and FAQ | Direct Link to Jacksonville State/Eastern Illinois Game
This week the OVC Football "Game of the Week" series on ESPN3 features No. 1 Jacksonville State at Eastern Illinois in a battle for first place in the OVC. The game is slated to kick-off at 1:00 p.m. CT on Saturday.
This contest is the sixth of an exclusive eight-game package that will air on ESPN3 this season.
The games are being produced by WebStream Sports, an Indianapolis-based company which is a proven leader in video production, streaming video and content creation. The company, founded in 2006, produces more than 1,000 events annually and has also served as a web streaming consultant for the OVC for the past three years.
Kevin Ingram, host of "The Wake Up Zone" on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, will handle play-by-play duties while Bob Belvin, on-air talent and contributor at 100.7 FM/AM 540 (ESPN Clarksville), will provide analysis. The duo has worked together each of the past three years in the league's TV package.
ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The network is currently available to more than 99 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
GAME PREVIEW
#1 Jacksonville State Gamecocks (7-1, 5-0 OVC)
at Eastern Illinois Panthers (5-3, 5-0 OVC)
Saturday, Nov. 7 • 1:00 p.m. CT
O’Brien Field (10,000) • Charleston, Ill.
TV:...................................................................... ESPN3
Live Stats:.........
http://www.sidearmstats.com/eiu/football/
Series Record:........................................... Series tied 6-6
Last Meeting:........ Jacksonville State won 27-20 (11/15/14)
John Grass at Jacksonville State:................... 17-3 (2 yrs.)
John Grass Overall:................................................. same
Kim Dameron at Eastern Illinois:................... 10-10 (2 yrs.)
Kim Dameron Overall:.............................................. same
Jacksonville State Last Week: W, 34-0 vs. #13 Eastern Kentucky
Eastern Illinois Last Week:........... W, 34-20 at Murray State
GAME NOTES: For the second-straight week a pair of undefeated teams in the OVC will play for first place as Eastern Illinois hosts Jacksonville State. Last season JSU locked up the OVC title with a 27-20 win over the Panthers, ending EIU’s two-year reign as champions. The all-time series is deadlocked at six and in 9 of the 12 previous meetings the team that has won the game has gone on to win the OVC Championship. In last year’s win JSU never trailed although the game was close throughout and EIU had the ball twice in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie the game. Eli Jenkins passed for 288 yards and a touchdown for the Gamecocks while DaMarcus James rushed for 112 yards and a score. Josh Barge had a big game at the receiver position, catching eight passes for 153 yards and a touchdown. For EIU Jalen Whitlow passed for 137 yards and rushing for a team-high 78 yards and a score before exiting in the fourth quarter with an injury.
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE: Jacksonville State shutout No. 13 Eastern Kentucky 34-0 to improve to 5-0 in OVC play; JSU was the first OVC opponent to shutout EKU since the 2006 season. The Gamecocks remained No. 1 in the STATS Top 25 poll and ascended to No. 1 in the FCS Coaches Poll for the first time this season after Coastal Carolina suffered a loss. JSU held Eastern Kentucky to just 175 yards of total offense and allowed the Colonels to cross midfield only twice in the victory. The Gamecocks are now ranked No. 2 nationally in total defense (259.9 yards/game) while ranking No. 5 in total offense (503.4 yards/game), making them the only team in the FCS ranked in the top five in both categories. The victory was the 14th-straight OVC win for JSU, now tied for sixth in OVC history. Quarterback Eli Jenkins, who is now 22-0 as a starter against FCS opponents during the regular season, was named OVC Offensive Player of the Week after passing for a career-high 324 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 18 additional yards in the win. Jenkins now ranks 12th nationally in completion percentage (65.7%) and 23rd in passing efficiency (146.9). Jenkins has 6,399 yards of total offense for his career, third in school history. Linebacker Dawson Wells had six tackles and returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown to earn OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors. The JSU defense held the Colonels to just 88 rushing yards, the fifth time this season they have held an opponent to less than 100 yards rushing. Josh Barge had nine catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns; he is now just seven catches away from breaking the school career receptions mark.
SCOUTING EASTERN ILLINOIS: Eastern Illinois won its fifth-straight game to remain undefeated in OVC play by topping Murray State 34-20. The Panthers now face the other top three teams in OVC play over the final three weeks of the season. EIU trailed Murray State 13-10 at the end of the first quarter but allowed the Racers to score only seven more points the rest of the way in its 14-point victory. The team’s first points of the game came on a 94-yard kickoff return by Tray Mitchell, the team’s first kickoff for a score since the 2011 season. Later Shepard Little would add a one-yard touchdown and ended the game with a 40-yard touchdown run as he totaled 109 yards on the ground. Jalen Whitlow completed 18-of-27 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 39 additional yards. The Panthers defense had four sacks and 9.0 tackles-for-loss in the game. Dino Fanti and Kamu Grugier-Hill each had two sacks while Jourdan Wickliffe had 11 total tackles and a pass breakup. As a team EIU is first nationally in blocked punts (4), third in blocked kicks (5) and sixth in tackles-for-loss (8.6/game). EIU is receiving votes in both major FCS Top 25 polls, including being unofficially No. 28 in the STATS Top 25.