Eastern Illinois at Illinois State
Eastern Illinois (1‑2) at Illinois State (3‑0) — no line posted yet, but the model favors Illinois State (96%).
How they got here
Last three games
Eastern Illinois · 1-2
Picked #249 in the preseason · now #237 — better than expected.
1-2 in its last three, capped by a 14-point win over Murray State as a 4.5-point underdog.
L 35–42 vs Indiana State #224 of 669
lost by 7 as a 3-point underdog
L 7–59 @ Minnesota #34 of 669
lost by 52 as a 42.5-point underdog
W 28–14 @ Murray State #253 of 669
won by 14 as a 4.5-point underdog
Last three games
Illinois State · 3-0
Picked #126 in the preseason · now #92 — better than expected.
Three straight wins — but still hunting a ranked opponent.
W 28–24 @ Northern Illinois #104 of 669
won by 4 as a 2.5-point favorite
W 41–10 @ Western Illinois #170 of 669
won by 31 as a 20.5-point favorite
W 76–0 vs St. Francis (IL)
What’s at stake
Eastern Illinois
- Eastern Illinois needs 5 more wins in the final 8 to reach bowl eligibility.
- A win would be one of Eastern Illinois’s biggest of the season — a 145-spot gap in the power ratings.
Illinois State
- Illinois State needs 4 more wins in the final 8 to reach bowl eligibility.
- Illinois State is the unseeded Redbird that became the first FCS team to win four consecutive road playoff games, beat the #1 seed at home, and reached the national championship in 2026—a miracle run that fell one point short of the title.
The series
Illinois State leads the series 22-12
34 meetings since 1975 · Illinois State has won the last 2
- 2025Illinois State 42–30
- 2024Illinois State 31–7
- 2023Eastern Illinois 14–13
- 2022Illinois State 35–7
- 2021Illinois State 31–24
Conditions
90°F · 10 mph wind
Illinois State is worth +4.8 points (±12.9) more at home than on the road since 2018 — middle of FBS, 65th percentile.
33% at home, 31% on the road against FBS opponents (3–6 home, 4–9 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 -6.8 at home vs. away over 49 games — inside the ±8.6 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
The visitors travel about 83 miles to get here.
Recent games
Illinois State
- Wk 1Wvs St. Francis (IL)76-0
- Wk 1Wat Western Illinois41-10
- Wk 2Wat Northern Illinois28-24
Eastern Illinois
- Wk 1Wat Murray State28-14
- Wk 1Lat Minnesota7-59
- Wk 2Lvs Indiana State35-42