Thursday, September 3, 2026. Kickoff 8:00 p.m. ET on Peacock.
Minnesota opens at Huntington Bank Stadium against Eastern Illinois. The thing to know: this game is not on television. It streams exclusively on Peacock.
| Kickoff | 8:00 p.m. ET · 7:00 CT · 6:00 MT · 5:00 PT |
| TV | None — streaming only |
| Streaming | Peacock (standalone subscription) |
| Venue | Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis |
Peacock Is Straightforward
Unlike SEC Network+, which requires a cable provider to authenticate, Peacock is a standalone subscription. Anyone can buy it directly for a monthly fee and watch this game. No cable, no login, no provider.
NBC has been putting select Big Ten games exclusively on Peacock as part of its rights deal — the same reason a handful of NFL games have gone streaming-only in recent years.
Minnesota’s Week Ahead
The Gophers open Thursday and then host Mississippi State on September 12, which is the SEC school’s required Power Four non-conference game. Getting the opener out of the way early gives Minnesota nine days to prepare for that.
An 8 p.m. Eastern kickoff is 7 p.m. locally — a normal Thursday evening in Minneapolis.
Eastern Illinois
EIU is an FCS program from Charleston, Illinois, competing in the Ohio Valley Conference. The program’s best-known alumni are two NFL head coaches and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, which is a remarkable record for a school of its size.
The Bottom Line
Eastern Illinois at Minnesota kicks off 8:00 p.m. ET Thursday, September 3, streaming exclusively on Peacock. There is no television broadcast, but Peacock is a standalone subscription requiring no cable provider — so anyone can watch.