2023 Eastern Illinois
8–3 (3–2 Big South–OVC Football Association). Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Indiana State 27–0Aug 31
By 27 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat McNeese 31–28Sep 23
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | at Indiana State | W 27–0 | 35% |
| Sep 9 | at Bowling Green | L 15–38 | 19% |
| Sep 16 | vs Illinois State | W 14–13 | 37% |
| Sep 23 | vs McNeese | W 31–28 | 61% |
| Sep 30 | at Northwestern State | W 19–10 | 47% |
| Oct 7 | vs UT Martin | L 27–28 | 35% |
| Oct 14 | at Southeast Missouri State | L 28–35 | 28% |
| Oct 21 | vs Bryant | W 25–24 | 51% |
| Nov 4 | at Lindenwood | W 16–10 | 47% |
| Nov 11 | vs Tennessee State | W 30–17 | 53% |
| Nov 18 | at Robert Morris | W 28–14 | 66% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Robert Morris 28–14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big South–OVC Football Association.
In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 47 on file).
- Record
- 8–3
- Conference
- 3–2 tied for 3rd in Big South–OVC Football Association
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 260–217
- Coach
- —
- Elo
- 1303 +134 this season
- SP+ rating
- —
- SRS
- −23.4 No. 53 of 128 in FCS
- Recruiting class
- No. 165
- Offensive coordinator
- Joe Davis
- Defensive coordinator
- Clay Bignell
Leaders
| Passing yards | Pierce Holley QB | 2,599 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Pierce Holley QB | 15 TD |
| Rushing yards | M.J. Flowers RB | 790 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | M.J. Flowers RB | 7 TD |
| Receiving yards | DeAirious Smith WR | 477 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Justin Bowick WR | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Anthony Shockey LB | 11 tkl |
| Interceptions | Blake Ruffin DB | 4 INT |
Top recruits in the 2023 class
| Rasheed Anderson OL | ★★ | No. 3302 |
| Pat Darelus CB | ||
| Jacob Horvath P | ||
| Nic DiSanto OL |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2023 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive line | 1 | 2.0 | 0.750 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Transfers in 0
The 2023 portalNo transfers in.
Transfers out 1
2023 Big South–OVC Football Association standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| UT Martin | 5–1 | 8–3 | |
 Gardner-Webb | 4–1 | 7–5 | |
 Eastern Illinois | 3–2 | 8–3 | |
| Bryant | 3–2 | 6–5 | |
| Southeast Missouri State | 3–2 | 4–7 | |
 Charleston Southern | 2–3 | 4–7 | |
| Tennessee State | 2–4 | 6–5 | |
 Tennessee Tech | 1–4 | 4–7 | |
| Lindenwood | 1–5 | 3–7 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.