Oct. 9, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State will face its final non-conference opponent of the season when it hosts Eastern Illinois on Saturday in the first-ever gridiron meeting between the two schools.
The game, which is scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. ET kickoff at Beaver Stadium, will be televised by ESPN Classic (Comcast Channel 265 in the Centre Region) and will also air on the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State's individual and team champions from the highly-successful 2008-09 sports season will be honored, parading onto the field at halftime of the contest on Champions Day.
Penn State won a school record-tying six Big Ten Championships last year and the women's volleyball and fencing squads delivered NCAA Championships. The field hockey, football, women's outdoor track and field, women's soccer (regular season and tournament) and women's volleyball teams all won Big Ten titles in 2008-09. The Nittany Lion basketball team won the 2009 NIT Championship and the men's volleyball team won the 2009 EIVA crown and an NCAA Tournament semifinal berth.
On the strength of 338 yards rushing and a dominant second half performance, Penn State improved to 4-1 with a 35-17 victory over Illinois in Champaign last weekend. Running backs Stephfon Green (13-120-1) and Evan Royster (17-105-1) each eclipsed 100 rushing yards while Daryll Clark accounted for 258 yards of total offense, including a career-high 83 on the ground. The Penn State defense, which has yet to allow a first half touchdown this season, kept Illinois out of the end zone until less than nine minutes were left in the game. Linebacker Josh Hull recorded double figure tackles for the fourth consecutive contest with 11.
Eastern Illinois (4-1), which is ranked No. 25 in the latest FCS poll, is coming off its first loss of the season, a 36-31 setback to No. 16 Eastern Kentucky. The Panther offense, which averages 29.2 points per game, is headlined by quarterback Jake Christensen, a transfer from Iowa, and running back Jimmy Potempa, who transferred from Michigan. The defense's top playmaker is linebacker Cory Leman, brother of former Illinois standout linebacker J Leman.
Despite meeting Eastern Illinois for the first time in the program's 123rd season on Saturday, Penn State has a 24-6 record against other teams from the state of Illinois: Illinois (14-3), Northern Illinois (1-0), Northwestern (9-3). Eastern Illinois also represents the first Ohio Valley Conference opponent Penn State has met in team history.
A limited number of tickets remain for the game. Tickets can be purchased at www.GoPSUsports.com or by calling 800-833-5533.
Following the Eastern lllinois game, Penn State will return to Big Ten play when it welcomes Minnesota to Happy Valley on Oct. 17 for its 90th Homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET at Beaver Stadium and will be regionally televised by ABC (ESPN outside ABC coverage area). The Golden Gophers are 3-2 (1-1 in the Big Ten) this season and host Purdue this weekend.