CARBONDALE - Third-seeded Southern Illinois University drew Eastern Illinois University as a first-round opponent in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. The teams will meet at 1 p.m. Saturday at McAndrew Stadium.

Eastern finished the regular season at 8-3 and earned a playoff berth by winning the Ohio Valley Conference's automatic bid. The Panthers had a chance to nail down the bid Thursday night, but they were upset by Tennessee State. EIU got the conference's automatic bid Saturday when Jacksonville State defeated Eastern Kentucky.

"They're a good team," said SIU coach Dale Lennon. "We know they are definitely capable. They're played a couple teams in our league and have done well against those teams. We feel it will be just like playing a league team of a high caliber."

The Panthers played two MVFC teams this season, defeating Illinois State 31-6 and Indiana State 31-0. Southeast Missouri State was another common opponent. EIU defeated the Redhawks, 23-14.

Like SIU, the Panthers had one FBS opponent. The Panthers dropped a 52-3 decision to Penn State.

Eastern's most prolific offensive weapon this season has been quarterback Jake Christensen. He has thrown for 2,191 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing 59.6 percent of his passes. He has thrown just 10 interceptions in 292 attempts.

Running back Jimmy Potempa and freshman receiver Kenny Whittaker have been Christensen's favorite targets, with 31 and 27 catches, respectively.

The Eastern running attack is centered on Mon Williams. Williams, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior, has 763 yards. He has scored nine of EIU's 10 rushing touchdowns.

les.winkeler@thesouthern.com

618-351-5088

Related

• SIU gets No. 3 seed