The No. 18 Illinois Fighting Illini (6-3, 3-1 Big Ten) and Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-4, 2-2) meet Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Illinois vs. Nebraska odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
Illinois leads the Big Ten West with its 3-1 mark. The Illini lead the conference in scoring defense with 8.9 points allowed per game. They enter on a 5-game win streak and haven’t allowed more than 14 points in any single game along that span.
Nebraska was railroaded 43-37 as a 14-point underdog by the Purdue Boilermakers Oct. 15. The Cornhuskers coughed up 608 total yards. Nebraska ranks 14th in the Big Ten in all 3 defensive yardage categories (rushing, passing and total yards allowed per game). Among power-5 programs, only Colorado and North Carolina have yielded more total yards on average than UN’s 471.7.
Rankings courtesy of the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
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Illinois at Nebraska odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Illinois -320 (bet $320 to win $100) | Nebraska +250 (bet $100 to win $250)
- Against the spread (ATS): Illinois -7.5 (-105) | Nebraska +7.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 49.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
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Illinois at Nebraska picks and predictions
Prediction
Illinois 27, Nebraska 17
Moneyline
The visiting Illini (-320) are the lean in this game, but there is no need to tangle with all this juice for a short payout. PASS.
Against the spread
Illinois has won its last 2 games in this series straight up and covered its last 3 against Nebraska. The upstart Illini are 8-2 ATS since last Nov. 6.
Look for UI’s slightly better-than-average offense to find success against a porous Nebraska defense. The early-downs defense for these two Big Ten foes presents a major line of demarcation, and Illinois is on the right side of that line.
The UI defense excels near the line of scrimmage, in creating havoc, and in keeping opposing offenses behind the chains and scrambling.
The Illini offense may be a tad overrated, but it should still find success in coming up with solid drives more often than not. The UI ground game should be able to clock a lead late. Peg that lead as a double-digit one.
TAKE ILLINOIS -7.5 (-105).
Over/Under
The Under has gone 1-4-1 across Illinois’ last 6 games.
The expected game flow in this one, UI’s 56-44 run-pass mix, and perhaps a couple or 3 field goals put this total in a low-to-mid-40s range.
BACK THE UNDER 49.5 (-107).
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