The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-4, 0-4 Big Ten) take on the Illinois Fighting Illini (3-5, 2-3) in Champagne, Ill. this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Rutgers at Illinois odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
If you would have told Illini fans before the season that they would have wins over Nebraska and Penn State, they would have taken it. But those are Illinois’ only two conference wins, and the Penn State win last week came via a 9-OT slugfest that finished 20-18 (not a typo). Illinois has one of the worst offenses in the country (4.7 yards per play; 117th nationally), and the defense is giving up 23.8 points per game.
Rankings according to the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Rutgers hasn’t fared much better. It is winless in conference play thus far, it enters this matchup on a four-game losing streak and the offense is right on par with Illinois’ in terms of yards per play. After covering the spread in each of its first four games, the Scarlet Knights have failed to cover any of its last three games.
Rutgers at Illinois odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 7:45 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Rutgers -117 (bet $117 to win $100) | Illinois -103 (bet $103 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Rutgers -1.5 (-105) | Illinois +1.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 41.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Indiana at Maryland odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Illinois 24, Rutgers 20
Money line
There’s some letdown potential for Illinois after the big Penn State win, but Rutgers has been outscored 104-33 in its last three games against No. 5 Ohio State, No. 7 Michigan State and Northwestern. Until Rutgers shows it can win a Power 5 game—which it hasn’t since Week 2 at Syracuse—we’ll lean on Illinois (-103) to win outright.
Against the spread
This game is essentially a pick ’em, so it’s usually a good idea to PASS on the spread and target the preferred team on the money line for better odds.
Over/Under
We touched on the utter futility of each team’s offense above, so it’s no surprise to see such a low number here. Neither defense is all that great either—Rutgers ranks 84th in yards allowed per play while Illinois is 92nd.
This can still be an ugly game and hit the OVER 41.5 (-108).
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