The 2018 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Kim Dameron in his fifth and final season as head coach, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 3–8 overall with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the OVC. Eastern Illinois played home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois.
On November 18, Dameron was fired.[1] He finished his tenure at Eastern Illinois with a five-year record of 27–30.
Preseason
On July 20, 2018, the media covering the OVC released their preseason poll with the Panthers predicted to finish in fifth place.[2] On July 23, the OVC released their coaches poll with the Panthers predicted to finish in fourth place.[3]
Media poll | Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Jacksonville State | 134 (14) |
| 2 | Austin Peay | 114 (1) |
| 3 | UT Martin | 96 |
| 4 | Tennessee State | 91 |
| 5 | Eastern Illinois | 83 |
| 6 | Eastern Kentucky | 64 |
| 7 | Murray State | 39 |
| 8 | Southeast Missouri State | 35 |
| 9 | Tennessee Tech | 19 |
Coaches poll | Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Jacksonville State | 126 (14) |
| 2 | Austin Peay | 112 (4) |
| 3 | UT Martin | 95 |
| 4 | Eastern Illinois | 73 |
| 5 | Eastern Kentucky | 69 |
| 6 | Tennessee State | 64 |
| 7 | Southeast Missouri State | 62 |
| 8 | Murray State | 24 |
| 9 | Tennessee Tech | 23 |
Preseason All-OVC team
The Panthers had three players selected to the preseason all-OVC team.[4]
| Offense - Isaiah Johnson – RB
- Alexander Hollins – WR
Defense |
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|
| September 1 | 3:00 p.m. | at Arkansas* | | SECN | L 20–55 | 63,342 |
| September 8 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 19 Illinois State* | | NBCSC+ | L 10–48 | 8,914 |
| September 15 | 6:00 p.m. | Indiana State* | | ESPN+ | L 41–55 | 6,420 |
| September 22 | 2:00 p.m. | Tennessee State | - O'Brien Field
- Charleston, IL
| ESPN+ | L 40–41 | 7,670 |
| September 29 | 6:00 p.m. | at Tennessee Tech | | ESPN+ | W 52–38 | 7,184 |
| October 6 | 6:00 p.m. | Murray State | - O'Brien Field
- Charleston, IL
| ESPN+ | L 41–48 | 3,063 |
| October 13 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 8 Jacksonville State | | ESPN3 | L 22–49 | 15,649 |
| October 20 | 2:00 p.m. | UT Martin | - O'Brien Field
- Charleston, IL
| ESPN3 | W 24–21 OT | 7,413 |
| October 27 | 12:00 p.m. | at Eastern Kentucky | | ESPN+ | L 23–31 | 4,400 |
| November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | Austin Peay | - O'Brien Field
- Charleston, IL
| ESPN+ | W 52–21 | 2,149 |
| November 17 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 23 Southeast Missouri State | | ESPN+ | L 32–38 | 3,987 |
- *Non-conference game
Homecoming- Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Central time
|
Game summaries
At Arkansas
| | | | | | Total |
| Panthers | 0 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| Razorbacks | 10 | 28 | 10 | 7 | 55 |
At Illinois State
| | | | | | Total |
| Panthers | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| No. 19 Redbirds | 7 | 21 | 10 | 10 | 48 |
Indiana State
| | | | | | Total |
| Sycamores | 17 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 55 |
| Panthers | 20 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 41 |
Tennessee State
| | | | | | Total |
| Tigers | 0 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 41 |
| Panthers | 17 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 40 |
At Tennessee Tech
| | | | | | Total |
| Panthers | 7 | 14 | 10 | 21 | 52 |
| Golden Eagles | 10 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 38 |
Murray State
| | | | | | Total |
| Racers | 10 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 48 |
| Panthers | 7 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 41 |
At Jacksonville State
| | | | | | Total |
| Panthers | 3 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 22 |
| No. 8 Gamecocks | 14 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 49 |
UT Martin
| | | | | | | Total |
| Skyhawks | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Panthers | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
At Eastern Kentucky
| | | | | | Total |
| Panthers | 10 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 23 |
| Colonels | 3 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
Austin Peay
| | | | | | Total |
| Governors | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Panthers | 14 | 21 | 3 | 14 | 52 |
At Southeast Missouri State
| | | | | | Total |
| Panthers | 7 | 0 | 10 | 15 | 32 |
| No. 23 Redhawks | 10 | 7 | 3 | 18 | 38 |
References
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National championship seasons in bold |