2012 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

The 2012 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Dino Babers, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 7–5 overall with a mark of 6–1 in conference play, winning the OVC title. Eastern Illinois earned the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they lost in the first round to South Dakota State. The team played home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois.

2012 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
OVC champion
NCAA Division I First Round, L 10–58 vs. South Dakota State
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Ranking
FCS Coaches	No. 25
Record	7–5 (6–1 OVC)
Head coach	Dino Babers (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Sterlin Gilbert (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Veer and shoot
Defensive coordinator	Kim McCloud (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	O'Brien Field
Seasons ← 2011 2013 →

2012 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Illinois $^		6	–	1					7	–	5
No. 22 Eastern Kentucky		6	–	2					8	–	3
UT Martin		6	–	2					8	–	3
Jacksonville State		5	–	3					6	–	5
Tennessee State		4	–	3					8	–	3
Murray State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Southeast Missouri State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Tennessee Tech		1	–	7					3	–	8
Austin Peay		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	6:30 pm	Southern Illinois*		O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	WEIU	W 49–28	8,275
September 8	6:00 pm	at Western Michigan*		Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI		L 21–52	22,536
September 15	1:00 pm	at No. 15 Illinois State*		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL (Mid-America Classic)		L 51–54 2OT	7,700
September 22	6:30 pm	Murray State		O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	WEIU	W 50–49	5,319
September 29	1:30 pm	Austin Peay		O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	WEIU	W 65–15	9,154
October 6	2:00 pm	at UT Martin		Graham Stadium Martin, TN		L 37–51	5,456
October 13	1:30 pm	Jacksonville State		O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	WEIU	W 31–28	7,358
October 27	12:00 pm	at No. 18 Eastern Kentucky		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY		W 24–7	4,400
November 3	1:30 pm	at Tennessee Tech		Tucker Stadium Cookeville, TN		W 31–24	8,968
November 10	1:30 pm	Southeast Missouri State		O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	WEIU	W 39–20	5,575
November 17	3:00 pm	at No. 10 Central Arkansas*	No. 24	Estes Stadium Conway, AR		L 30–48	6,754
November 24	2:00 pm	at No. 19 South Dakota State*	No. 25	Coughlin–Alumni Stadium Brookings, SD (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN3	L 10–58	4,367
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time