Iowa at Illinois odds, picks and predictions
The Iowa Hawkeyes (3-2) visit the Illinois Fighting Illini (4-1) in a Big Ten battle Saturday. Kickoff from Memorial Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Iowa vs. Illinois odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are looking to revive their struggling season vs. a very solid Illinois team. After a strong season last year, Iowa has not looked the same this year. They opened with a lackluster 7-3 win vs. San Diego State, followed by a 10-7 loss to Iowa State. They beat Nevada (27-0) and Rutgers (27-10), but lost 27-14 last week against No. 4 Michigan.
The Fighting Illini are coming off a 34-10 win over Wisconsin and are looking to continue their strong start, which includes wins against Wyoming (38-6), Virginia (24-3) and Chattanooga (31-0). Their lone loss was 23-20 to Indiana in Week 2.
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Iowa at Illinois odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 2:01 p.m. ET.
Money line (ML): Iowa +155 (bet $100 to win $155) | Illinois -190 (bet $190 to win $100)
Against the spread (ATS): Iowa +3.5 (-122) | Illinois -3.5 (-102)
Over/Under (O/U): 35.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
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Iowa at Illinois picks and predictions
Prediction
Illinois 28, Iowa 17
Money line
LEAN ILLINOIS -190
Yes, this is a risky bet. Conference games in college are always tricky and I never like to bet against Iowa as they always seem to put up a fight in big games. as they did last week vs. Michigan. Illinois is simply too strong of a team to lose this game at home and they have played some good competition and beat them. While Wisconsin isn’t as good as Iowa this year, because this Illini squad was able to blow out Wisconsin they should also be able to get a big win vs. Iowa.
Against the spread
Lean ILLINOIS -3.5 (-102).
This is your best bet in this game. This Illinois offense is powerful and they should simply be able to put up more points than an Iowa offense that has looked non-existent to this point of the season. Iowa has scored in the single digits twice and only scored 27 points against 2 of the worst teams in the nation. They will not be able to keep up with the Illinois offense. The only reason for pause is that Iowa’s defense is nothing to sneeze at. Allowing only 27 points to a Michigan team with 1 of the best rushing attacks in the country is impressive. But, this is still your best bet for this game.
Over/Under
LEAN OVER 35.5 (-112)
This is the most risky bet for this game. This Iowa offense worries me and while they will score a few more points this game than they normally do against good competition, I would not be surprised if I was wrong. I could very easily see this Iowa team scoring in the single digits for the 3rd time this year. Also, the Illinois offense is strong enough to feel comfortable with betting on the over for this game.
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