The Big Ten season gets underway when the Illinois Fighting Illini visit the Wisconsin Badgers Friday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., for an 8 p.m. ET kickoff under the lights. Below, we analyze the Illinois-Wisconsin college football betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
The Badgers are 14th in the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Illinois at Wisconsin: Betting odds and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 10:40 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Illinois +700 (bet $100 to win $700) | Wisconsin -1112 (bet $1,112 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Illinois +19.5 (-106) | Wisconsin -19.5 (-115)
- Over/Under: 51.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Illinois at Wisconsin: Three things to know
- The Badgers are the favorites to win the Big Ten West Division. Redshirt freshman QB Graham Mertz will make his first start as last year’s starter QB Jack Coan is out indefinitely due to a broken foot. Sophomore RB Nakia Watson and senior RB Garrett Groshek will be called on to replace two-time Doak Walker Award winner Jonathan Taylor (now with the Indianapolis Colts). TE Jake Ferguson returns as one of the conference’s best tight ends. The defense, led by LB Jack Sanborn, should be the team’s strength – all three players return up front.
- Head coach Lovie Smith begins his fifth season in Champaign following a 6-7 campaign, which included the program’s first bowl game – a 35-20 loss in the Redbox Bowl – in five years. Senior QB Brandon Peters returns after throwing 18 touchdowns in 2019. His No. 1 target is back in WR Josh Imatorbhebhe (9 TDs). The offensive line returns 125 career starts with four potential future NFL players. LB Jake Hansen is the leader of the defense, a unit which led the Big Ten with 2.2 takeaways per game and led the country with 6 defensive touchdowns in 2019.
- The Illini stunned the then-No. 6 Badgers 24-23 a year ago, kicking a 39-yard field goal as time expired. The Badgers, who were 6-0 at the time, had won the previous nine games in the series. They are 7-0 in their last seven home games vs. the Illini, who last won in Madison in 2002.
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Illinois at Wisconsin: Odds, prediction, betting lines and picks
Prediction
Wisconsin 31, Illinois 23
Money line (ML)
AVOID. Wisconsin (-1112) is way too chalky to bet. As mentioned above, it would take $11.12 just to win $1 on the Badgers ML.
Against the spread (ATS)
ILLINOIS +19.5 (-106) is the STRONGEST PLAY – 1.5 times your usual wager. The Illini bring back enough experience to not get blown out by a ranked-Badgers squad that should be a little rusty in the season opener. Plus, Wisconsin will need some time to figure out its offensive attack with star RB Taylor now in the NFL.
Over/Under (O/U)
A slight lean to the OVER 51.5 (-110) – half your usual wager. This likely won’t hit until midway through the fourth quarter. With both teams trying to get a feel for the game in the first half, things could start out slow.
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| Johnny’s 2020 CFB record / Strongest plays | 1-4 / 0-1 |
| 2020 overall record (all sports) | 121-94-3 |
| Strongest plays (all sports) | 60-36-1 |
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