← Matchups

Southern Illinois

· 2-1 · power +2.6 · #143
Our numberUND -15.9 no book has priced this game

North Dakota

· 3-0 · power +12.7 · #70
Our side
MoneylineUND to win ours 84%
Projected score 23–39 SIU – UND
2026-11-21 · 2:00 PM Alerus Center · Grand Forks, ND Conference game Indoors Early season

The books

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

Series Southern Illinois lead 3–2 · 5 meetings since 2008
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game even 24 ranks apart
Southern Illinois Salukis #2 rush offense North Dakota Fighting Hawks #26 run defense
Pass game even 7 ranks apart
Southern Illinois Salukis #45 pass offense North Dakota Fighting Hawks #52 pass defense
Run game even 42 ranks apart
North Dakota Fighting Hawks #120 rush offense Southern Illinois Salukis #162 run defense
Pass game edge North Dakota Fighting Hawks 134 ranks
North Dakota Fighting Hawks #73 pass offense Southern Illinois Salukis #207 pass defense
Southern Illinois Salukis Balanced · 55% run Ball-control Dual-threat QB · 71 rush ypg North Dakota Fighting Hawks Run-heavy · 60% run Avg pace Dual-threat QB · 43 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
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
North Dakota Fighting Hawks
P Luke Silvernale 5 punts · 49.8 yd avg #2 P
WR Korey Tai 12 rec · 274 yds · 4 TD #30 WR
DB Jonnie Wiltshire 9 tkl · 2 PD · 1 INT #89 DB
DL Brody Thornton 8 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 4.0 TFL #114 DL

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
Southern Illinois Salukis +2.6 +3.3 -0.7 #143
North Dakota Fighting Hawks +12.7 +10.8 +1.9 #70

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

Where the number comes from
Southern Illinois offense vs North Dakota defense+1.4 pts
North Dakota offense vs Southern Illinois defense+11.5 pts
Efficiency adjustment · EPA, success rate, explosiveness+2.5 pts
Power projection before adjustment+13.4
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 809 mi
Rest · context onlyHome team on 7 more days rest

The projection carries an efficiency adjustment — a residual from season-to-date EPA, success rate and explosiveness, which earned its place by walk-forward test (margin error 12.90 → 12.72 across seven held-out seasons).

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.