Illinois vs. Eastern Illinois: Live updates, score, results, highlights, for Thursday's NCAA Football game

The Eastern Illinois Panthers will start their season against they. Kickoff is scheduled at 9:00 p.m. ET on Thursday at Memorial Stadium.

Looking back to last season, Eastern Illinois had a phenomenal run, finishing with a superb 8-3 record. On the other hand, Illinois will seek to improve after finishing 5-7.

Eastern Illinois must know they're fighting an uphill battle given the 27.5-point spread they're up against. They finished last season with a 7-3 record against the spread.

The disadvantage in the odds might be especially worrying for Eastern Illinois considering the team was a sub-par 2-3 as the underdog last season. Betting on them to win was the most profitable play last year, as bettors who put $100 on that outcome in every game walked away with $682.60. Illinois will open their season as the favorite, and the team was 3-2 as such last season.