Illinois vs UTSA prediction and game preview.
Illinois vs UTSA Broadcast
Date: Saturday, September 4
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL
Network: Big Ten Network
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Illinois (1-0) vs UTSA (0-0) Game Preview
Why UTSA Will Win
How much will it matter that Illinois doesn’t have starting quarterback Brandon Peters?
Artur Sitkowski stepped in when Peters got hurt and rocked in the 30-22 win over Nebraska, but can the Illinois offensive line hold up and keep UTSA out of the backfield?
The Roadrunner defense has playmakers. It was solid against the run last year, was fantastic at getting behind the line, and it might have the best defensive player in the game in star safety Rashad Wisdom.
As good as the Illini were in the win, they struggled to consistently run well, gave up almost 400 yards of Nebraska offense, and had a few too many breakdowns. However …
– Week 1 College Football Schedule
Why Illinois Will Win
One thing became apparent in a hurry against Nebraska – Illinois has a whole lot of experience, and that’s showing up on the lines.
The defensive front was great at getting into the backfield, the offensive front – while hardly dominant for the ground attack – helped the offense hold the ball for almost ten minutes longer, and that all allowed everyone else to work.
UTSA has a good enough offense to worry about, but as long as the Illini defense can swarm around RB Sincere McCormick like it did against the Nebraska running backs – make the Roadrunners throw, and things should be okay – it’ll control the game.
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What’s Going To Happen
It might sound strange to think UTSA could be more dangerous than Nebraska, but …
UTSA could be more dangerous than Nebraska.
The Roadrunners are loaded with veteran and super-seniors, they have a star running back in McCormick, and the offensive line knows how to blast away to get the running game working.
Illinois will get another solid game out of Sitkowski, and the experience and maturity across the board will once again come through, but don’t expect this to be a breeze just because Bret Bielema and company got a big win to kick things off.
The Illini will win, but they’ll have to sweat it out.
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Illinois vs UTSA Prediction, Line
Illinois 34, UTSA 27
Illinois -6, o/u: 52.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
Must See Rating: 3
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