Wk 1 · 2026
Eastern Illinois Panthers at Minnesota Golden Gophers — Thu, Sep 3
Thu, Sep 3 ·
Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
· Peacock FINAL
Weather
No forecast yet. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
Eastern Illinois Panthers
FCS / Other · 0-1
at
8:00pET
MINN -42.5 · total 52.5 DraftKings opened -43.5 · 1 toward EIU
No ratings differential: E Illinois is not in the ratings file.
What is at stake
A non-conference game. It moves both overall records but neither conference race.
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so
the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a
longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the
good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so
neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats · 2026 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2026 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
E Illinois form
L 7-59at MINN
2026 season
Minnesota form
L 13-41at PURW 20-14vs MICHW 27-24at WASHW 41-7vs AKRL 13-38vs MSST
2026 season
E Illinois this season
Straight up0-1 · 0% (1 games)
Against the spread0-1 · 0% (1 games)
Over / under1-0 · 100% (1 games)
Minnesota this season
Straight up4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Against the spread4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Over / under3-3 · 50% (6 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 0
These teams share no opponents on the 2026 schedule.
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, Minnesota leads 2–0 · Minnesota has won the last 2
2 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
37.0 points toward Minnesota
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-09-03 | E Illinois 7 — 59 Minnesota | at MINN | Minnesota |
| 2014 | 2014-08-28 | E Illinois 20 — 42 Minnesota | at MINN | Minnesota |
E Illinois leaders
No tracked players for this team.
From this site’s tracked-player feed; ESPN published no season leaders for this team.
No roster page: this site tracks the 138 FBS teams.
Minnesota leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Drake Lindsey QB #5 | 105/157, 1087 YDS, 8 TD, 4 INT |
| Max Shikenjanski QB #6 | 3/3, 50 YDS | |
| Rushing | TJ Thomas RB #23 | 46 CAR, 307 YDS, 1 TD |
| Darius Taylor RB #1 | 57 CAR, 139 YDS, 4 TD | |
| Xavier Ford RB #9 | 17 CAR, 82 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Noah Jennings WR #13 | 26 REC, 345 YDS, 1 TD |
| Javon Tracy WR #11 | 27 REC, 300 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Jalen Smith WR #8 | 12 REC, 121 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Darius Taylor RB #1 | 11 REC, 104 YDS, 1 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Maverick Baranowski LB #6 | 34 |
| Kerry Brown DB #14 | 25 | |
| Zack Harden DB #4 | 25 | |
| Sacks | TJ Bush Jr. DL #3 | 4 |
| Karter Menz DL #11 | 3 | |
| Anthony Smith DL #0 | 1.5 | |
| Interceptions | Maverick Baranowski LB #6 | 1 |
| John Nestor DB #17 | 1 | |
| Zack Harden DB #4 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.