Illinois State at North Dakota
North Dakota (6‑4) hosts Illinois State (7‑2). No market line yet; the model calls it close to even.
How they got here
Last three games
Illinois State · 7-2
Rated 126th in our preseason ratings, 111th now, up 15 spots.
Three straight wins — but still hunting a ranked opponent.
W 76-0 vs St. Francis (IL)
Last three games
North Dakota · 6-4
Rated 123rd in our preseason ratings, 98th now, up 25 spots.
1-2 in its last three, including a 11-point win over South Dakota State as a 14-point underdog.
What’s at stake
Illinois State
- Illinois State is 2 games back in MVFC with 2 left to make it up.
- Illinois State is coming off a 21-point win.
The series
North Dakota leads the series 3-1
4 meetings since 1979 · Illinois State won the last meeting
- 2024Illinois State 35-13
- 2023North Dakota 22-21
- 2021North Dakota 14-7
- 1979North Dakota 20-0
Home field
North Dakota is worth +10.4 points (±6.5) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top tenth of FBS, 100th percentile.
50% at home, 14% on the road against FBS opponents (3-3 home, 2-12 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +6.0 at home vs. away over 57 games — inside the ±7.0 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
Indoors — dome hosts have beaten the number by about a point and a half more than outdoor ones, on a small sample. The visitors travel about 649 miles to get here.
Week by week
North Dakota
- Wk 5Wvs Murray State55-28
- Wk 6Lat Northern Iowa17-24
- Wk 7Wvs South Dakota State21-10
- Wk 8Lat South Dakota23-26
- Wk 9Lat Youngstown State28-31
Illinois State
- Wk 4Lat Northern Iowa21-28
- Wk 5Lvs South Dakota State14-31
- Wk 7Wat Southern Illinois35-14
- Wk 8Wvs Indiana State17-10
- Wk 9Wvs Murray State35-14
Power rating by week
North Dakota is rated 1.4 points ahead as of week 10. Our power rating by week; higher is better.
Conference standings
Going into this game: place in the conference, then conference record.
- North Dakota6th3-3
- Illinois State4th3-2

