← Matchups

Northern Iowa

· 1-1 · power -4.0 · #230
Our numberSIU -9.6 no book has priced this game

Southern Illinois

· 2-1 · power +2.6 · #143
Our side
MoneylineSIU to win ours 72%
Projected score 24–34 UNI – SIU
2026-10-24 · 2:00 PM Saluki Stadium · Carbondale, IL Conference game Early season

The books

No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.

Series Southern Illinois lead 11–10 · 21 meetings since 1983
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge Southern Illinois Salukis 61 ranks
Northern Iowa Panthers #223 rush offense Southern Illinois Salukis #162 run defense
Pass game even 33 ranks apart
Northern Iowa Panthers #174 pass offense Southern Illinois Salukis #207 pass defense
Run game edge Southern Illinois Salukis 197 ranks
Southern Illinois Salukis #2 rush offense Northern Iowa Panthers #199 run defense
Pass game edge Southern Illinois Salukis 156 ranks
Southern Illinois Salukis #45 pass offense Northern Iowa Panthers #201 pass defense
Northern Iowa Panthers Balanced · 57% run Ball-control Southern Illinois Salukis Balanced · 55% run Ball-control Dual-threat QB · 71 rush ypg

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
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
Southern Illinois Salukis
DL Ibrahim Sanogo 11 tkl · 3.5 sacks · 5.5 TFL #15 DL
LB Ben Fiegel 22 tkl · 4.5 TFL #28 LB
LB Andrew Behm 18 tkl · 1.5 TFL #122 LB
WR Kyle Thomas 6 rec · 150 yds · 1 TD #218 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
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Northern Iowa Panthers -4.0 -2.5 -1.5 #230
Southern Illinois Salukis +2.6 +3.3 -0.7 #143

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Northern Iowa offense vs Southern Illinois defense-1.8 pts
Southern Illinois offense vs Northern Iowa defense+4.8 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.