1985 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

American college football season

1985 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
Conference	Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference
Record	6–5 (2–3 GCAC)
Head coach	Al Molde (3rd season)
Home stadium	O'Brien Stadium
Seasons← 1984 1986 →

1985 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Northern Iowa $^	5	–	0	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
Southwest Missouri State	2	–	2	–	1	6	–	4	–	1
Western Illinois	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Southern Illinois	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Eastern Illinois	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Illinois State	1	–	3	–	1	6	–	3	–	2

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1985 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (GCAC) during the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by third-year head coach Al Molde, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 2–3 in conference play, tying for third place in the GCAC. Eastern Illinois played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 7	at Northeast Missouri State*	Stokes Stadium Kirksville, MO	L 24–31
September 14	Indiana State*	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 39–7
September 21	Saginaw Valley State*	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 35–27
September 28	at Southern Illinois	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	L 13–42	11,200
October 5	at Kansas*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 20–44	37,500
October 12	Illinois State	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL (rivalry)	W 21–14
October 19	No. 15 Southwest Missouri State	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 28–27	4,065
October 26	Western Illinois	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	L 20–34
November 2	No. 14 (D-II) Northern Michigan*	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 27–12
November 9	at No. 5 Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	L 20–21	10,875
November 16	at Western Kentucky*	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 14–13	4,500
*Non-conference game Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

1985 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`2`	Roy Banks	Jr
OT	`78`	Chris Geile	Jr
QB	`18`	Sean Payton	Jr
OT	`63`	Dave Popp	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`98`	Mel Black	Sr
LB	`44`	Rob DeVita	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P	`8`	Evan Arapostathis	Sr

"Eastern loses thriller". The Rock Island Argus. September 8, 1985 – via Newspapers.com.
"Eastern Illinois 39, Indiana State 7". The Republic. September 15, 1985 – via Newspapers.com.
"Payton powers Eastern". Herald and Review. September 22, 1985 – via Newspapers.com.
"SIU burns EIU". Southern Illinoisan. September 29, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Kansas cruises by Panthers". Olathe News. October 6, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Eastern Illinois 21, Illinois State 14". Evansville Courier & Press. October 13, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Eastern turns tables on Southwest Missouri". Herald and Review. October 20, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"McKinney's 3 scores lift Leathernecks". The Des Moines Register. October 27, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Northern loses to Eastern Ill". The Grand Rapids Press. November 3, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Title already assured, UNI survives late scare". The Des Moines Register. November 10, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Western claws back, tehn falls short to Eastern Illinois". The Courier-Journal. November 17, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"EIU Football Online Guide, 2019" (PDF). Eastern Illinois athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2020.

v t e Eastern Illinois Panthers football
Venues	O'Brien Field (1970–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Illinois State: Mid-America Classic
Culture & lore	Billy the Panther
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold