1982 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

The 1982 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team was an American football team that represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Association of Mid-Continent Universities during the 1982 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their fifth year under head coach Darrell Mudra, the team compiled a 11–1–1 record (2–0–1 in the Mid-Con), and were defeated by Tennessee State in the NCAA Division I-AA First Round.

1982 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
Mid-Con co-champion
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 19–20 vs. Tennessee State
Conference	Association of Mid-Continent Universities
Ranking
AP	No. 5
Record	11–1–1 (2–0–1 Mid-Con)
Head coach	Darrell Mudra (5th season)
Home stadium	O'Brien Stadium
Seasons ← 1981 1983 →

1982 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Eastern Illinois +^	2	–	0	–	1			11	–	1	–	1
Northern Iowa +	2	–	0	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Southwest Missouri State	1	–	2	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Western Illinois	0	–	3	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	Illinois State*		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL (rivalry)	W 27–14	8,200	[1]
September 11	Northeast Missouri State*		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 18–17	7,000	[2]
September 18	Wayne State (MI)*		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 27–0	7,200	[3]
September 25	at Northern Iowa		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	T 10–10	10,726	[4]
October 2	at Youngstown State*		Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	W 27–23	8,895	[5]
October 9	Akron*		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 18–0	10,631	[6]
October 16	at Indiana State	No. 20	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	W 16–12	15,471	[7]
October 23	at Western Illinois	No. 11	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 31–7	10,399	[8]
October 30	Southern Illinois*	No. 7	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 20–7	9,120	[9]
November 6	at Southwest Missouri State	No. 6	Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO	W 36–7	3,200	[10]
November 13	Kentucky State*	No. 5	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 73–0	12,425	[11]
November 27	No. 8 Jackson State*	No. 5	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 16–13 OT		[12]
December 4	at No. 4 Tennessee State*	No. 5	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 19–20		[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

^[14][15]

Roster

1982 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 11 Jeff Christensen Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Darrell Mudra Coordinators/assistant coaches Alonzo Lee (Linebackers coach) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Eastern Illinois tops Illinois State, 27–14". Tulsa World. September 5, 1982. Retrieved November 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Furious rally saves Eastern". Quad-City Times. September 12, 1982. Retrieved November 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Christensen on target as Eastern Illinois rolls". The Courier. September 19, 1982. Retrieved November 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "UNI salvages 10–10 tie with E. Illinois". The Des Moines Register. September 26, 1982. Retrieved November 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Christensen keys Eastern Illinois win". The Pantagraph. October 3, 1982. Retrieved November 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Duncan sacks Akron". Herald and Review. October 10, 1982. Retrieved October 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Ailing 'Sickamores' fumble away homecoming". The Indianapolis Star. October 17, 1982. Retrieved November 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Eastern Illinois 31, Western Illinois 7". St. Petersburg Times. October 24, 1982. Retrieved November 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "SIU turns it over to EIU". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 31, 1982. Retrieved November 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Eastern Illinois ties for title". The Kansas City Star. November 7, 1982. Retrieved November 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Panthers bomb KSU". The State Journal. November 14, 1982. Retrieved November 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Kicker's 3d try saves EIU in OT". Chicago Tribune. November 28, 1982. Retrieved August 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Eastern's playoff hopes come to a soggy end". Chicago Tribune. December 5, 1982. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "NCAA Statistics; Schedule & Results (Eastern Illinois)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
15. "EIU Football Online Guide, 2019" (PDF). Eastern Illinois athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2020.