Gophers-Eastern Illinois preview: How to watch, key players and prediction
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The Gophers will kick off their 2026 regular-season campaign on Thursday night against Eastern Illinois (EIU). Minnesota is currently favored by 43.5 points, so the experts think we’ll see a dominant win over an FCS program to open the season. Here’s what you need to know.
How to watch
- Time: 7 p.m. CT
- TV/streaming: Peacock/NBCSN
- Broadcast team: Jason Benetti (PxP), Yogi Roth (color)
- Radio: KFAN FM 100.3
Rutgers-UMass and Illinois-UAB received the 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Big Ten Network (BTN) slots on Thursday night, therefore the Gophers got bumped to streaming on Peacock. NBC has recently been putting Peacock games on its NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) channel, so you can watch on services like cable or YouTube TV without having to log in to the Peacock app.
Minnesota and Eastern Illinois will have a fun broadcast team with Benetti, who has become a veteran college football voice, and Roth, who’s a new up-and-comer in the color commentary world since the West Coast teams joined the Big Ten.
Eastern Illinois preview
The Panthers opened their season in Week Zero last Thursday night on the road against fellow FCS program Murray State. They entered the game as 4.5-point betting underdogs, but they left with a 28-14 win. It snapped a seven-game losing streak for fifth-year head coach Chris Wilkerson.
Eastern Illinois was voted to finish seventh out of eight teams in the preseason Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) coaches’ poll, and Murray State was voted to finish last in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), so it’s probably silly to think last week’s game changes any outlook for how either team would perform against a Big Ten opponent.
Former Wisconsin transfer Cole LaCrue earned the starting quarterback role for EIU this season in his second year with the program. He’s a 6-foot-1 dual threat, and he completed 11 of his 18 passes against Murray State for 101 yards and one touchdown. They’re definitely a run-first team, as veteran running back Charles Kellom had 19 carries for 171 yards and three touchdowns against the Racers.
Prediction
The Gophers were favored by a similar spread last season against FCS opponent Northwestern State, and they won that game 66-0. Oddly enough, the Demons also snapped a losing streak before playing Minnesota in that one.
A returning QB, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator makes me think Minnesota could get off to a hot start on Thursday night and cover the massive 43.5-point number. Eastern Illinois has lost its last three games against FBS opponents by a combined score of 132-7. I think Minnesota flexes its muscles early, and the majority of the starters are done before the fourth quarter, as they prepare for a massive Week 2 game against Mississippi State.
- Score: Minnesota 56, Eastern Illinois 7
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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Sep 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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