The Eastern Illinois Panthers take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m. EST on SEC Network+.
Alabama is favored by 50.5 points on the spread. The total is set at 57.5 points.
Here’s my Eastern Illinois vs. Alabama predictions and college football picks for Saturday, November 22, 2025.
Eastern Illinois vs Alabama Prediction
- Eastern Illinois vs. Alabama Pick: Alabama -50.5
My Alabama vs. Eastern Illinois best bet is on the Tide to cover. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Eastern Illinois vs Alabama Odds
| Panthers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+50.5 -110 | 57.5 -110o / -110u | |
| Crimson Tide Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-50.5 -110 | 57.5 -110o / -110u | |
- Eastern Illinois vs Alabama point spread: Alabama -50.5 (-110)
- Eastern Illinois vs Alabama over/under: 57.5 (-110o / -110u)
Eastern Illinois vs Alabama Preview
Eastern Illinois Panthers Betting Preview: Offensive Struggles Have Sunk Season
Eastern Illinois comes in losers of six straight games and buried at the bottom of the OVC, a place they have made a habit of in recent years.
This team hasn’t played too badly relative to their competition, but the offense has started slowly in each of their games during the losing streak, as Eastern Illinois hasn’t scored more than six points in the first half since September.
The offense is fairly run-heavy, and carries are split between Charles Kellom and running quarterback Cole LaCrue. Those two have
1,200 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns between them, but there is not much in the way of production in the ground attack outside of that.
The passing offense is pedestrian even at the FCS level, as Eastern Illinois rotates quarterbacks between LaCrue and Connor Wolf, who have combined for 1,903 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
The offensive line has struggled while allowing 35 sacks and 94 tackles for loss this season.
I would not expect the offense to have much success against Alabama.
Defensively, Eastern Illinois hasn’t played too badly at its level of competition, but it's going to be up against a ranked SEC powerhouse this week.
The defense struggles to tackle well, and the pass rush is nonexistent.
While Eastern Illinois allows only 375 yards per game, it plays in a conference where most offenses play at a slow pace, and there is less explosiveness among Big South-OVC teams.
I don't anticipate Eastern Illinois being able to limit what Alabama wants to do offensively here.
Alabama Crimson Tide Betting Preview: Looking to Rebound After Tough Loss
Alabama comes in off a frustrating loss against Oklahoma last week.
Alabama missed some chances in that game to capitalize, though the Tide dominated the box score.
Three turnovers really cost Alabama by setting up Oklahoma for scoring chances themselves, or erasing promising drives.
With the Iron Bowl on deck, I would expect this Alabama team to get itself going offensively early in this one, and head coach Kalen DeBoer should allow his second team to operate the offense as usual in the second half.
Defensively, Alabama had a solid performance last week, and the Tide have been much better than expected all season.
They haven't allowed 30 points in a game since the season-opening loss against Florida State, and have done well to control the line of scrimmage against many of the offenses they have faced.
I would expect a ton of personnel rotation here for Alabama in this one.
Still, the Tide will have significant advantages over Eastern Illinois and should have no trouble getting the Panthers off the field consistently.
Eastern Illinois vs Alabama Pick, Betting Analysis
It's intimidating to lay this considerable number, but backing Alabama is the right side.
Defensively, Eastern Illinois grades out in the bottom half of the Big South-OVC in nearly every metric.
The Panthers aren't a strong run-stopping unit, and they struggle in overall team tackling.
The defensive line doesn't generate much of a pass rush, and I would expect zero adversity for Ty Simpson in this game.
We should see Alabama generate chunk plays and explosives regularly, and I would not be surprised if the Tide score touchdowns on every possession in the first half.
Eastern Illinois will not have much offensive punch in this one.
The Panthers are run-heavy, but their ground attack is neither proficient nor explosive, so I would expect a lot of punts, leading to short Alabama fields.
The Panthers have scored six or fewer first-half points in each of their last six games, and there is very little reason to believe they will move the football here against the Tide.
This game could go quickly sideways for Eastern Illinois.
The Panthers have struggled through a tough season, and the FCS portion of the slate is over. There are no FCS playoffs in sight for Eastern Illinois, and we saw this defense quit in the fourth quarter against Lindenwood last week.
There is a real chance the team is just done, ready to turn in the pads and call it a season.
Pick: Alabama -50.5
