2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team
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| 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football | |
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Ohio Valley Conference Co-Champions
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NCAA Playoffs First Round Vs. Western Illinois, L, 9–48
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| Conference | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Sports Network | #15 |
| FCS Coaches | #15 |
| 2002 record | 8–4 (5–1 OVC) |
| Head coach | Bob Spoo (16th year) |
| Home stadium | O'Brien Stadium (Capacity 10,000) |
[1] The 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers represented Eastern Illinois University in the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season. 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 and keeping that job today, racking up four Pro Bowl Selections.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | ||
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| August 31 | at Hawaii* | Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, Hawaii | L 36–61 | 39,958 | |||||
| September 14 | at Kansas State* | KSU Stadium • Manhattan, Kansas | L 13–63 | 45,642 | |||||
| September 21 | Indiana State | O'Brien Stadium • Charleston, Illinois | W 26–19 | 8,340 | |||||
| September 28 | Illinois State | O'Brien Stadium • Charleston, Illinois | W 45–10 | 10,731 | |||||
| October 5 | at Tennessee Tech | Tucker Stadium • Cookeville, Tennessee | W 35–28 | 10,850 | |||||
| October 12 | Eastern Kentucky | O'Brien Stadium • Charleston, Illinois | W 25–24 | 8,397 | |||||
| October 19 | at Southeast Missouri State | Houck Stadium • Cape Girardeau, Missouri | W 44–27 | 9,178 | |||||
| November 2 | at Tennessee State | Nissan Stadium • Nashville, Tennessee | W 54–48 | 7,216 | |||||
| November 9 | UT Martin | O'Brien Stadium • Charleston, Illinois | W 55–43 | 3,822 | |||||
| November 16 | FAU* | O'Brien Stadium • Charleston, Illinois | W 47–6 | 3,740 | |||||
| November 23 | at Murray State | Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, Kentucky | L 35–37 | 6,112 | |||||
| November 30 | at Western Illinois* | Hanson Field • Macomb, Illinois (I-AA Playoffs First Round) | L 9–48 | 2,500 | |||||
*Non-conference game.  Homecoming. #Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time. |
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