Our side
MoneylineILST to win
ours 96%
Projected score
14–45
EIU – ILST
2026-09-19 · 3:00 PM
Hancock Stadium · Normal, IL
Early season
The books
No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.
Series
Illinois State lead
22–12
· 34 meetings since 1975
2025 unit ranks —
last completed season, from games actually played
Run game
edge Illinois State Redbirds
91 ranks
Eastern Illinois Panthers #233 rush offense
Illinois State Redbirds #142 run defense
Pass game
edge Illinois State Redbirds
113 ranks
Eastern Illinois Panthers #247 pass offense
Illinois State Redbirds #134 pass defense
Run game
edge Eastern Illinois Panthers
101 ranks
Illinois State Redbirds #123 rush offense
Eastern Illinois Panthers #22 run defense
Pass game
edge Illinois State Redbirds
175 ranks
Illinois State Redbirds #79 pass offense
Eastern Illinois Panthers #254 pass defense
Eastern Illinois Panthers
Run-heavy · 58% run
Ball-control
Illinois State Redbirds
Balanced · 55% run
Avg pace
Ranked by team-unit strength
(rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265
D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the
2025 season.
The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above
Who carried each team in 2025
Eastern Illinois Panthers
RB
Charles Kellom
297 rush yds · 4 TD · 9 rec
#14 RB
LB
Ja'Wuan Nickson
21 tkl · 0.5 sacks · 4.5 TFL
#36 LB
DL
Isaac Engle
7 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 3.0 TFL
#253 DL
DL
Aidan Archibald
4 tkl · 2.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL
#340 DL
Illinois State Redbirds
DB
Jack Oliver
6 tkl · 2 PD · 1 INT
#47 DB
LB
Tye Niekamp
14 tkl · 2.0 sacks · 4.0 TFL
#64 LB
TE
Alex Herrera
4 rec · 49 yds · 2 TD
#43 TE
WR
Dylan Lord
13 rec · 134 yds · 1 TD
#134 WR
Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their
position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no
2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for
these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.
Power breakdown
Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).
Where the number comes from
Eastern Illinois offense vs Illinois State defense-11.3 pts
Illinois State offense vs Eastern Illinois defense+16.2 pts
An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have
played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.