Minnesota routs Eastern Illinois 59-7
Team pages: Eastern Illinois · Minnesota
Minnesota routed Eastern Illinois 59-7. Share this game
We had Minnesota favored. It won.
Next: Eastern Illinois lost to Indiana State 42-35, Sat Sep 12
Box score
Minnesota 59, Eastern Illinois 7
Minnesota covered −42.5 by 9.5. The total, 66, went over 52.5.
| Team totals | Eastern Illinois | Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 110 | 495 |
| Passing | 9 of 15, 59 yds | 26 of 33, 348 yds |
| Rushing | 28 for 51 yds | 38 for 147 yds |
| First downs | 4 | 24 |
| Third down | 3 of 13 | 10 of 15 |
| Fourth down | 0 of 0 | 1 of 1 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties | 6 for 35 yds | 2 for 10 yds |
| Time of possession | 23:39 | 36:21 |
Eastern Illinois leaders
- Passing Cole Lacrue 7 of 12, 51 yds, 1 TD
- Rushing Cole Lacrue 5 for 22 yds; Charles Kellom 7 for 20 yds
- Receiving Tyren Buggs 2 for 38 yds, 1 TD; Zeke Lewis 1 for 10 yds
Minnesota leaders
- Passing Drake Lindsey 19 of 24, 264 yds, 1 TD
- Rushing Darius Taylor 14 for 56 yds, 3 TD; TJ Thomas Jr. 7 for 52 yds
- Receiving Javon Tracy 5 for 98 yds; Noah Jennings 3 for 57 yds
Before kickoff
Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.
Recent games
Last three games · 2025 season
Eastern Illinois · 3-9
Rated 249th in our preseason ratings, 249th now.
Three straight losses.
L 0-56 @ AlabamaTop 25 #6 of 667
lost by 56 as a 50.5-point underdog
L 12-42 @ Lindenwood #194 of 667
lost by 30 as a 5.5-point underdog
L 9-21 vs Tennessee Tech #88 of 667
lost by 12 as a 24.5-point underdog
L 20-27 vs UT Martin #174 of 667
lost by 7 as a 4.5-point underdog
L 16-17 @ Charleston Southern #221 of 667
lost by 1 as a 3-point underdog
L 13-42 @ Southeast Missouri State #191 of 667
lost by 29 as a 7.5-point underdog
L 10-21 vs Gardner-Webb #160 of 667
lost by 11 as a 4.5-point underdog
W 31-7 vs Tennessee State #237 of 667
won by 24 as a 5-point favorite
W 31-23 @ Western Illinois #244 of 667
won by 8 as a 2.5-point underdog
L 30-42 vs Illinois State #133 of 667
lost by 12 as a 20.5-point underdog
L 14-38 @ Indiana State #213 of 667
lost by 24 as a 3.5-point underdog
W 24-14 vs Dayton #220 of 667
won by 10 as a 9.5-point favorite
Last three games · 2025 season
Minnesota · 8-5
Rated 29th in our preseason ratings.
W 20-17 vs New Mexico #90 of 667
won by 3 as a 1.5-point favorite
W 17-7 vs Wisconsin #65 of 667
won by 10 as a 2.5-point underdog
L 35-38 @ Northwestern #61 of 667
lost by 3 as a 4.5-point underdog
L 13-42 @ OregonTop 25 #2 of 667
lost by 29 as a 26.5-point underdog
W 23-20 vs Michigan State #76 of 667
won by 3 as a 5.5-point favorite
L 3-41 @ IowaTop 25 #29 of 667
lost by 38 as a 7.5-point underdog
W 24-6 vs NebraskaTop 25 #49 of 667
won by 18 as a 6.5-point underdog
W 27-20 vs Purdue #78 of 667
won by 7 as a 7.5-point favorite
L 3-42 @ Ohio StateTop 25 #1 of 667
lost by 39 as a 23.5-point underdog
W 31-28 vs Rutgers #50 of 667
won by 3 as a 3.5-point favorite
L 14-27 @ California #45 of 667
lost by 13 as a 3.5-point favorite
W 66-0 vs Northwestern State #256 of 667
won by 66 as a 43-point favorite
W 23-10 vs Buffalo #93 of 667
won by 13 as a 16.5-point favorite
The series
Minnesota leads the series 1-0
1 meeting since 2014 · Minnesota won the last meeting
- 2014Minnesota 42-20
Line, fans and home field
The betting line, and the fans
Our model and the betting line agree on Minnesota’s chances here.
Minnesota favored by 42.5 · Total 52.5
The market
The spread moved 1 point toward Eastern Illinois.
Spread: −43.5 → −42.5
Home field
Minnesota is worth +4.7 points (±4.0) more at home than on the road since 2018 — middle of FBS, 59th percentile.
67% at home, 48% on the road against FBS opponents (34-17 home, 19-21 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +3.6 at home vs. away over 96 games — inside the ±6.7 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 459 miles to get here.

