Our side
MoneylineWIU to win
ours 41%
Projected score
32–29
WIU – EIU
2026-11-07 · 3:00 PM
O'Brien Field · Charleston, IL
Conference game
Early season
The books
No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.
Series
Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois split 4 (2–2)
· 4 meetings since 2015
2025 unit ranks —
last completed season, from games actually played
Run game
edge Eastern Illinois Panthers
160 ranks
Western Illinois Leathernecks #182 rush offense
Eastern Illinois Panthers #22 run defense
Pass game
even
14 ranks apart
Western Illinois Leathernecks #240 pass offense
Eastern Illinois Panthers #254 pass defense
Run game
even
18 ranks apart
Eastern Illinois Panthers #233 rush offense
Western Illinois Leathernecks #215 run defense
Pass game
edge Western Illinois Leathernecks
45 ranks
Eastern Illinois Panthers #247 pass offense
Western Illinois Leathernecks #202 pass defense
Western Illinois Leathernecks
Balanced · 46% run
Ball-control
Eastern Illinois Panthers
Run-heavy · 58% 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
Western Illinois Leathernecks
LB
Nick Reinicke
18 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.0 TFL
#57 LB
DB
Aa'zoriyon Bonner
9 tkl · 1 PD
#170 DB
DB
Jouvenson Romulus
9 tkl · 1 INT
#376 DB
DB
Brayden Hapner
8 tkl · 2 PD
#458 DB
Eastern Illinois Panthers
RB
Charles Kellom
297 rush yds · 4 TD · 9 rec
#14 RB
LB
Ja'Wuan Nickson
21 tkl · 0.5 sacks · 4.5 TFL
#36 LB
DL
Isaac Engle
7 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 3.0 TFL
#253 DL
DL
Aidan Archibald
4 tkl · 2.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL
#340 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
Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).
Where the number comes from
Western Illinois offense vs Eastern Illinois defense+7.5 pts
Eastern Illinois offense vs Western Illinois defense+2.9 pts
Efficiency adjustment · EPA, success rate, explosiveness-1.5 pts
Power projection before adjustment-2.0
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).