Our side
MoneylineILST to win
ours 21%
Projected score
36–21
ILST – UNI
2026-09-26 · 5:00 PM
UNI-Dome · Cedar Falls, IA
Conference game
Indoors
Early season
The books
No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.
Series
Northern Iowa lead
13–10
· 23 meetings since 1985
2025 unit ranks —
last completed season, from games actually played
Run game
edge Illinois State Redbirds
76 ranks
Illinois State Redbirds #123 rush offense
Northern Iowa Panthers #199 run defense
Pass game
edge Illinois State Redbirds
122 ranks
Illinois State Redbirds #79 pass offense
Northern Iowa Panthers #201 pass defense
Run game
edge Illinois State Redbirds
81 ranks
Northern Iowa Panthers #223 rush offense
Illinois State Redbirds #142 run defense
Pass game
even
40 ranks apart
Northern Iowa Panthers #174 pass offense
Illinois State Redbirds #134 pass defense
Illinois State Redbirds
Balanced · 55% run
Avg pace
Northern Iowa Panthers
Balanced · 57% run
Ball-control
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
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
Northern Iowa Panthers
TE
Brady McCullough
7 rec · 98 yds · 3 TD
#11 TE
DB
Calvin Jaworski
7 tkl · 1 INT
#132 DB
LB
John Powers
20 tkl
#123 LB
LB
Kolben Miller
12 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 3.0 TFL
#151 LB
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
Illinois State offense vs Northern Iowa defense+9.1 pts
Northern Iowa offense vs Illinois State defense-7.9 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.