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Rutgers has been in complete turmoil since suffering their first loss in week 4. After losing to three straight ranked, Big Ten opponents (which are all now in the top seven of the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, by the way), Rutgers dropped a fourth straight against Northwestern.
The Illinois Fighting Illini may not be the strongest team in the Big Ten, but they are coming off of a huge victory against No. 17 Penn State in a game that took nine overtimes.
ESPN FPI has the Scarlet Knights favored in this road matchup. Let’s take a look at the betting lines. All Betting Lines are Courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook:
The Scarlet Knights are favored, giving one and a half points (-1.5) to the Fighting Illini. The Over/Under is set at 41.5 (-110).
Illinois may have beaten a strong team in Penn State, but putting the victory solely on the play of Illinois would be misleading. After that many overtimes, the final score was 20-18. The Nittany Lions were playing short-handed and it showed through the contest.
Rutgers is coming off the bye week, so they have had plenty of time to prepare for the suddenly hot Illinois. The Scarlet Knights sit at 3-4 on the season. If they want to gain some ground in the Big Ten and continue to trek towards bowl eligibility, they will need to take care of business this weekend.
Want to have a little fun this weekend? Play for free in the Week 9 Rutgers-Illinois Challenge. Answer six questions…plus a tiebreaker correctly for your chance at winning a gift card through Daily Ticket, powered by Tipico Sportsbook.