2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team
The 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers represented Eastern Illinois University in the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season.[1] Finishing the regular season with a record of 8–3, the panthers were invited to the I-AA (now FCS) playoffs, falling in the first round to Western Illinois by a final of 9–48. Quarterback Tony Romo's efforts earned him mass attention including making him the 2002 recipient of the Walter Payton Award. Despite not being selected at the 2003 NFL draft. Romo eventually signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent, eventually landing the starting job in 2006, racking up four Pro Bowl Selections until his retirement in 2016.
2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football | |
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NCAA Playoffs First Round, L 9–48 vs. Western Illinois | |
Conference | Ohio Valley Conference |
Ranking | |
Sports Network | No. 15 |
FCS Coaches | No. 15 |
2002 record | 8–4 (5–1 OVC) |
Head coach |
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Home stadium | O'Brien Stadium (Capacity 10,000) |
2002 Ohio Valley Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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Schedule
Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
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August 31 | at Hawaii* | L 36–61 | 39,958 | |
September 14 | at Kansas State* | L 13–63 | 45,642 | |
September 21 | Indiana State | W 26–19 | 8,340 | |
September 28 | Illinois State | W 45–10 | 10,731 | |
October 5 | at Tennessee Tech | W 35–28 | 10,850 | |
October 12 | Eastern Kentucky | W 25–24 | 8,397 | |
October 19 | at Southeast Missouri State | W 44–27 | 9,178 | |
November 2 | at Tennessee State | W 54–48 | 7,216 | |
November 9 | UT Martin |
| W 55–43 | 3,822 |
November 16 | FAU* |
| W 47–6 | 3,740 |
November 23 | at Murray State | L 35–37 | 6,112 | |
November 30 | at Western Illinois* |
| L 9–48 | 2,500 |
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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 |
References
- "College Football Statistics". www.totalfootballstatistics.com. Total Football Statistics. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- "Statistics Summary for 2002". static.eiupanthers.com. eiupanthers. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- "Kansas State Rout Is a Dunn Deal". Los Angeles Times. September 15, 2002. Retrieved September 9, 2019.