CHARLESTON, Ill. (Interstat) — Lindenwood will visit Eastern Illinois on Saturday for an NCAA Football Championship Division game at O’Brien Field. The Lions enter at 1-4, while the Panthers are 2-4. Eastern Illinois is the home team in a matchup between programs in the middle portion of their schedules.

Lindenwood will lean on quarterback Pops Battle. In the Lions’ most recent game, a 38-27 loss to Southeast Missouri State, Battle completed 12 of 28 passes for 182 yards and rushed four times for 49 yards and one touchdown. Steve Hall added 83 rushing yards on 10 carries and had two catches for 11 yards and one score, while Jared Rhodes ran 14 times for 67 yards and a touchdown. Battle also completed 2 of 5 passes for 9 yards and ran twice for 6 yards in Lindenwood’s loss at Eastern Michigan earlier this season.

The Lions’ other results include a loss at Missouri State, a loss at Stony Brook, and a home win over Charleston Southern. Lindenwood will look to Battle to spark an offense that has shown big-play ability in recent weeks. Eastern Illinois will counter with quarterback Cole LaCrue, who has been active in the passing and running games. In the Panthers’ 21-7 win at Gardner-Webb in their most recent game, LaCrue completed 2 of 4 passes for 11 yards and ran six times for 9 yards and one touchdown. Charles Kellom powered the offense with 33 carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

LaCrue also completed 6 of 16 passes for 85 yards and ran 12 times for 24 yards and one touchdown against South Dakota State. He completed 15 of 25 passes for 150 yards and ran five times for 15 yards and one touchdown at Illinois State. Eastern Illinois has also faced Indiana State, Minnesota, and Murray State this season. The Panthers opened the campaign with a win at Murray State before falling in several challenging nonconference contests. The Panthers will aim to carry momentum from their win at Gardner-Webb into Saturday’s home date.

After this game, Lindenwood will host Chicago State and Tennessee State before road games at Gardner-Webb, Tennessee-Martin, and Western Illinois. Eastern Illinois will host Southeast Missouri State and Western Illinois and will travel to Tennessee-Martin and Tennessee State, with Charleston Southern also set to visit.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Lindenwood 34, Eastern Illinois 32. The projection places the visiting Lions two points ahead in a matchup that could feature productive afternoons from Battle and LaCrue.