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Northwestern vs. Illinois fearless prediction and game preview.
Northwestern vs. Illinois Broadcast
Date: Saturday, November 30
Game Time: 12:00 ET
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL
Network: FS1
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Northwestern (2-9) vs. Illinois (6-5) Game Preview
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Why Northwestern Will Win
The running game has worked just enough to not be embarrassing.
The Wildcats won’t use late-season surprise Evan Hull – keeping him out so he can redshirt – but Drake Anderson will get the workload for an O that hit Purdue for 251 yards on the ground and UMass for 334.
It struggled against Minnesota, but the team kept on pushing, came up with a few decent drives, and it at least didn’t get totally wiped out.
Illinois isn’t exactly lighting it up offensively.
It can’t convert on third downs, it doesn’t do much to control games, and the production is just erratic enough that the Northwestern defense that hasn’t stop trying should be able to keep this mediocre attack and bad ground game in check.
However …
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Why Illinois Will Win
Yeah, the Northwestern passing thing has gone from totally miserable to a whole other sub-level of yuck.
It’s not for a lack of trying, and freshman Andrew Marty really did give it a shot last week – completing 8-of-12 passes for 95 yards and a score – but it was the second game in a row with fewer than 100 yards through the air for the O.
Northwestern is failing to hit 50% of its passes, it only has five touchdown throws on the year with 14 picks, and it’s not going to start winging it around the yard now against an Illinois that’s really, really good at taking the ball away.
How is Illinois surviving with such a mediocre offense? A nation-leading 27 takeaways helps the cause.
What’s Going To Happen
Illinois is already bowl eligible, and it’s going to break a three-game losing streak as it gets to seven wins in the regular season for the first time since it went to the Rose Bowl in the 2007 campaign. Northwestern’s defense will keep this rom getting out of hand, but the O that didn’t show up this season won’t make the bus for the ride to Champaign, either.
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Northwestern vs. Illinois Prediction, Line
Illinois 24, Northwestern 13
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Illinois -9.5, o/u: 44
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
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Must See Rating: 2
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