2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

American college football season August 2023 February 2026 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football Eastern Illinois Panthers wodmark 2000-2015.png 200 Ohio Valley Conference OVC 15 8–4 5–1 Bob Spoo 16th Roy Wittke 13th Roc Bellantoni 1st O'Brien Stadium OVC co-champion NCAA Division I-AA First Round L 9–48 vs. Western Illinois 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.College Football Statistics http://totalfootballstats.com/Team_College.asp?id=1230&Season=2002 www.totalfootballstatistics.com Total Football Statistics March 26, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20160307074340/http://totalfootballstats.com/Team_College.asp?id=1230&Season=2002 7 March 2016 usurped 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. 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 2002 NCAA Division I-AA The Sports Network Central August 31 10:00 p.m. l y y 4 Hawaii Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI 36–61 39,958 September 14 1:10 p.m. l y y 8 Kansas State KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS 13–63 45,642 September 21 5:00 p.m. w 13 Indiana State O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL 26–19 8,340 September 28 w 13 Illinois State O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL rivalry 45–10 10,731 Panthers dominate Redbirds in record win https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114234072/herald-and-review/ December 7, 2022 Herald & Review September 29, 2002 C7 Newspapers.com October 5 w y 13 2002 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Tennessee Tech Tucker Stadium Cookeville, TN 35–28 10,850 October 12 w 9 2002 Eastern Kentucky Colonels Eastern Kentucky 19 O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL 25–24 8,397 October 19 w y 7 2002 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks Southeast Missouri State Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO 44–27 9,178 November 2 w y 6 Tennessee State The Coliseum Nashville, TN 54–48 7,216 https://www.newspapers.com/article/herald-and-review-eastern-wins-despite-t/142581150/ Eastern wins despite Tennessee State's 675 yards Herald and Review November 3, 2002 March 3, 2024 Newspapers.com November 9 w 6 2002 Tennessee–Martin Skyhawks Tennessee–Martin O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL 55–43 3,822 November 16 w y 3 Florida Atlantic O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL 47–6 3,740 November 23 l y 2 Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY 35–37 6,112 Garth Gary Murray wins title on last-second FG https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal/206386257/ September 20, 2026 Courier Journal November 24, 2002 C11 Newspapers.com November 30 l y y 10 Western Illinois 3 Hanson Field Macomb, IL NCAA Division I-AA First Round 9–48 2,429 WIU storms Eastern https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88050281/ October 30, 2021 Quad-City Times December 1, 2002 D3 Newspapers.com Statistics Summary for 2002 https://static.eiupanthers.com/custompages/football/Career%20Stat%20Files/2002.htm static.eiupanthers.com eiupanthers 26 March 2020 Roster 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers f 11 Fr Justin Duhai QB 12 Fr Ben King QB 13 Sr Kyle Kissack QB 17 Sr Tony Romo QB y 22 Sr J. R. Taylor RB 75 Fr Eric Johnson OL 76 Sr Kevin Hill G 77 So Mike Bujnak T 78 Fr David Johanson OL 79 Fr Clayton George T 80 Sr Will Bumphus WR 81 Jr Dawanzelle Hopson WR 83 Jr Brandon Pettway WR 86 Fr Adam Parsill TE 87 So Matt Frazee WR 88 Jr Nick Eller TE 6 Jr Fred Miller SS 8 So Nick Allison CB 20 So Willie Bess DE 21 Fr Terrance Sanders DB 91 Fr Mike Morley DT 92 Fr Travis Wanzeck DE yes 93 Fr Curtis Lester DT 94 Fr Will Bihun DT yes 95 Sr Ed Donoghue DT 96 Fr Kory Lothe DE yes 97 So Marcus Lorick DT 98 Jr Damien McCottrell DT 99 Sr Lance Thompson LB 33 Fr Tom Schofield P https://web.archive.org/web/20021216144845/http://www.eiu.edu:80/~sprtinfo/sports/football/roster.htm *Bob Spoo 2002-12-16 Game summaries At Kansas State Panthers 13 0 0 0 Wildcats 15 28 13 7 2002 Kansas State Wildcats football team Tony Romo was 13-14 for 120 yards and a TD in the first quarter, but Kansas State grabbed control and cruised to the 50-point win.Kansas State Rout Is a Dunn Deal https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-sep-15-sp-kstate15-story.html Los Angeles Times September 15, 2002 September 9, 2019 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 Eastern Illinois Category:Eastern Illinois Panthers football seasons Category:Ohio Valley Conference football champion seasons Eastern Illinois Panthers football Eastern Illinois