PREGAME NOTES
Eastern Illinois (0-0 overall, 0-0 Ohio Valley) at Minnesota (0-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten)
Minneapolis, Minnesota – TCF Bank Stadium (52,525)
Thursday 6:00 p.m. CT – BTN
Coming off an impressive 8-5 season in 2013, expectations are certainly high for Jerry Kill’s fourth season leading the Maroon and Gold. Minnesota will kick off the year on Thursday evening as the Eastern Illinois Panthers will look to spoil the Gophers’ offseason momentum. Although EIU is coming off a remarkable season of their own, Minnesota’s advantage of playing in front of 52,000 fans in the midst of a “Gold Out” should be enough to start the year in the win column for the Gophers.
Series History
Thursday will mark the first meeting between Minnesota and Eastern Illinois. The Panthers are winless in six attempts when playing against Big Ten opponents. Despite it being the first time these teams will compete, Kill is familiar with Eastern Illinois. He posted a 2-1 record over the Panthers during his coaching stop at Southern Illinois.
Recent Success
Although some fans may not be acquainted with Eastern Illinois, the Panthers have proven to be among the top teams in FCS over the past couple seasons. Last year, EIU posted an impressive 12-2 overall record, en route to a FCS playoff quarterfinal appearance. One of the Panthers’ losses came at the hands of a highly talented Northern Illinois squad. EIU gave the Huskies all they could handle, eventually falling late in a shootout, 43-39. The two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference champions’ only other loss last season came at the hands of FCS runner-up, Towson. After falling to eventual FCS national champions, NDSU, in 2011, Kill and the Gophers are keenly aware of the type of talented athletes they can expect on Thursday evening.
“We lined up here I think in my first or second year, played North Dakota State, it’s a different style of team, but that’s the kind of athletes we’re going to get,” said Kill.
Based on the Panthers’ recent success, Minnesota understands that their season opener will be a hard-fought game.
“We certainly need to focus on Eastern Illinois, and more importantly we need to focus on what we can control and that’s us,” said Kill. “We need to make sure our kids are ready to play and ready to play each down, every snap, every play.”
Options at Quarterback
One looming question heading into the season for Eastern Illinois is who will be the starter under center for the Panthers. EIU will head into Thursday’s contest with two names, Andrew Manley and Jalen Whitlow, vying to fill the shoes of 2014 second round pick, Jimmy Garoppolo.
Gopher fans may be familiar with Manley, as the Hawaii native will make his return to TCF Bank Stadium after leading New Mexico State to a 28-21 win over the Maroon and Gold in 2011. Just a sophomore at the time, Manley scorched Minnesota for 288 yards and three touchdowns, something that Kill has not forgotten.
“They got two quarterbacks,” said Kill of the Panthers. “We know about Manley. He threw for about 300 yards here my first year, with New Mexico State.”
Also competing for the starting job is former Gopher recruiting target and Kentucky quarterback, Jalen Whitlow. As a true freshman in 2012, Whitlow started seven games for the Wildcats, throwing three touchdowns and running for three more. During his sophomore campaign, the athletic quarterback hit almost 62% of his pass attempts and tallied 11 total touchdowns.
“Whitlow, we recruited, or tried to recruit, went down there, had to try to get him and wasn’t able to get that done,” said Kill. “He went to ‑‑ I think, committed to Arkansas State and then went to Kentucky, and look at his Kentucky stats, he started ten games and was impressive, so their quarterback deal is a real issue.”
Coaching Preview
Kim Dameron enters his first season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois. Dameron has more than 30 years experience as a college football coach—including 15 years as a defensive coordinator. This will be Dameron’s second stint at EIU. He was the defensive coordinator for the Panthers in 2000, where he helped EIU to an FCS playoff appearance. With a new coaching staff on the opposite sideline, the Minnesota coaches will need to look at Dameron’s previous stops to find hints of what might be in store.
“Coach was at LA Tech, you go back to where their coaches were from, and you do the best you can but as a new coach it’s like coming here, sometime you look at your personnel, and you gotta do things differently so that’s the issue, but you try to go back through the archives,” said Kill. “I know two or three of them, and you kind of go, I know they used to do this.”
Matchup to Watch
Coming out of fall camp, one of the big stories for the Maroon and Gold has been an impressive secondary. A group that boasts such a formidable combination of depth, talent, and experience will be called upon to shut down an EIU offense full of athletic playmakers.
Although the Panthers have to replace Garoppolo and First Team All-American wide receiver Erik Lora, EIU will still return a trio of large, imposing receiving threats to matchup with the likes of Derrick Wells and Eric Murray. 6-foot-2 Adam Drake, 6-foot-3 Keiondre Gober, and 6-foot-6 Jeff LePak combined for 2766 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns last season in an offense that averaged almost four passing scores per game. Kill and the Gophers understand that they will need to contain these weapons in their opener in order to avoid a shootout.
“Receiver-wise, Adam Drake is a heck of a receiver,” said Kill. “[Eastern Illinois has] got a great receiving core.”
Player to Watch
No. 97 Dino Fanti – While being undersized at just 6-foot-1 and 265 pounds, the redshirt sophomore is very active and disruptive from his defensive tackle spot. Fanti racked up 45 tackles and led EIU in tackles for loss with 14.5. For his efforts, he was named second team All-Ohio Valley Conference. Fanti will have to use his quickness to make plays and avoid getting swallowed up by the Gophers’ interior linemen, who outweigh him by an average of 44 pounds.
Background
Location: Charlestown, Illinois
Enrollment: 8,347
Conference: Ohio Valley
Mascot: Panthers
Colors: Blue and Grey
Coach: Kim Dameron (1st Season)