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Morehead State

· 1-2 · power -15.1 · #345
Our numberWIU -8.2 no book has priced this game

Western Illinois

· 1-2 · power -9.9 · #294
Our side
MoneylineWIU to win ours 67%
Projected score 28–37 MORE – WIU
2026-09-19 · 7:00 PM Hanson Field · Macomb, IL Early season

The books

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

Series Western Illinois lead 1–0 · 1 meeting since 2006
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game even 35 ranks apart
Morehead State Eagles #250 rush offense Western Illinois Leathernecks #215 run defense
Pass game edge Morehead State Eagles 108 ranks
Morehead State Eagles #94 pass offense Western Illinois Leathernecks #202 pass defense
Run game edge Western Illinois Leathernecks 81 ranks
Western Illinois Leathernecks #182 rush offense Morehead State Eagles #263 run defense
Pass game edge Morehead State Eagles 62 ranks
Western Illinois Leathernecks #240 pass offense Morehead State Eagles #178 pass defense
Morehead State Eagles Balanced · 55% run Ball-control Western Illinois Leathernecks Balanced · 46% 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
Morehead State Eagles
DB Tazion McQueen 10 tkl · 1 PD · 2 INT #96 DB
DB Sidney Webb 4 tkl · 1 PD · 1 INT #125 DB
DB Isaiah Watts 3 tkl · 1 PD · 1 INT #148 DB
WR Cross Watson 4 rec · 132 yds · 3 TD #207 WR
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

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
Morehead State Eagles -15.1 -2.7 -12.4 #345
Western Illinois Leathernecks -9.9 -1.1 -8.8 #294

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

Where the number comes from
Morehead State offense vs Western Illinois defense+6.1 pts
Western Illinois offense vs Morehead State defense+11.3 pts
Efficiency adjustment · EPA, success rate, explosiveness-0.0 pts
Power projection before adjustment+8.2
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 418 mi

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.