Demons wrap up non-conference slate by hosting Eastern Illinois

NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State football team may not have fully hit the reset button during its open week, but it did some soul searching.

The results of those discoveries will be put on display Saturday at 6 p.m. when the Demons (0-3) return to action by hosting Eastern Illinois (3-1) in the second of back-to-back home games.

Saturday’s game will air on ESPN+ with Patrick Netherton (play-by-play), three-time All-American and two-time Super Bowl champion NSU alum Gary Reasons (analyst) and Tyler Moody (sidelines) calling the action.

“I don’t know if we necessarily reset, but there was a lot more time to reflect on the things we’re doing well and the things we’ve got to improve on,” sixth-year head coach Brad Laird said. “You get to dive into it a little deeper. To me, getting guys healthy is No. 1 (during a bye week). Number two, schematically and personnel-wise, you get to see where you are.”

The matchup between the Panthers and Demons is the back end of a home-and-home series that began in 2022 as part of the Southland-Ohio Valley scheduling alliance.

A season ago, it was Northwestern State who was the road team, brimming with confidence and riding a two-game win streak. This time, the Panthers hit the road, brimming with confidence and riding a two-game winning streak.

Eastern Illinois has won its past two games with late-game rallies to edge then-No. 25 Illinois State (14-13) on Sept. 16 and McNeese (31-28) this past Saturday on Stone Galloway’s 56-yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining.

Still, the Demons’ focus remains inward.

“We don’t look back at what we’ve done in the past,” said junior guard Jordan Cooper, who has started the first three games of the season. “We focus on what we do moving forward.”

Northwestern State’s emphasis on family remains – even if the weekend off allowed players and coaches to go their separate ways for a couple of days.

“It let everybody refresh and got us away from each other,” said sophomore cornerback Anthony Richard Jr., who ranks second on the team with three pass breakups. “Sometimes, too much time spent together can be detrimental to a team, but we all love each other. It’s good to be back.”

After playing incredibly familiar opponents in the first three weeks – Northwestern State has faced UL Lafayette, Louisiana Tech and Stephen F. Austin a combined 233 times – the Demons’ second straight home game brings forth a decidedly less common foe.

While the Demons and Eastern Illinois met a season ago, it was just the fourth time the teams had met – the first in 29 years. However, Laird sees value in the matchup – one that ends the Demons’ four-game non-conference schedule and serves as a final tune-up for Southland Conference play, which begins Oct. 7 at Lamar.

“It’s great for our conference when you have a non-conference game to stay FCS vs. FCS and play against a different conference,” Laird said. “They’ve played not only us but other teams in our conference. This is a good return trip and a good opportunity outside of our conference to showcase what we have.”