The Indiana Hoosiers will host the Illinois Fighting Illini for their first game of the season. Illinois is going to be coming into this one at 1-0, but this will be Indiana’s first game and both teams’ first game in the Big Ten.
The matchup is set to begin on Friday at 8 p.m. EST at the Rock in Indiana. Neither team had an impressive season a year ago, and they are looking to be better this season.
NCAAF Standings
According NCAAF Standings Illinois finished the 2021 season with a 5-7 record, while Indiana finished 2-10 and 0-9 in the Big 10 college football standings. Both of these programs have typically been two of the better in college football.
They have an opportunity here to turn their bad play a season ago around and there’s no better time to do that than against each other in a Big Ten matchup. Come check out our Fighting Illini vs. Hoosiers Score Betting Prediction.
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Indiana Hoosiers Previous Scoreboard
Hoosiers Record
Indiana has yet to play a game this season in the Week 0 college football schedule, but Illinois was able to come away with a 38-6 win against a tough Wyoming team.
Fighting Illini Record
Although Wyoming might not be the same caliber as some other teams in the Big Ten, as they play in the Mountain West, getting a week 1 win against a tough opponent is always going to be satisfying for the Fighting Illini.
The last time that these two teams met, Indiana was able to come away with a 24-14 win. They’ve now beaten Illinois for three straight games and are looking to make that four on Friday. These past games will help us with our Fighting Illini vs. Hoosiers Score Betting Prediction.
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Indiana Hoosiers Betting Analysis
The Indiana Hoosiers might be coming into this one after their most disappointing season in recent memory.
For a program that has as much history as Indiana, finishing the way that it did a year ago is certainly a major disappointment and is not okay for this University.
They need to get back to being the old Indiana that everybody loves and knows and this is the perfect year for them to do that during this season.
Illinois Fighting Illini should feel confident with what they were able to do in their Week 1 win against Wyoming. Both sides of the ball were able to show up for them and Tommy Devito, the Syracuse transfer quarterback, looked impressive in this one.
The former Don Bosco prep star Quarterback ended the day with an impressive 194 yards and threw for two touchdowns. He finished with 37 attempts and completed 27 of those passes.
Illinois Happy With Week 1 Win
On top of what Tommy Devito was able to do on the offensive side of the ball, the Fighting Illini also got major contributions out of their running game.
Chase Brown ended up having 19 carries and was able to rush for 151 yards, which is an average of 7.9 per rush. He also was able to punch two in himself and was a key contributor to the 38 points scored.
Illinois also showed some promise early in their NCAAF schedule on the defensive side of the ball against Wyoming.
Once again, although Wyoming isn’t the best team in the country by any means, allowing only 212 total yards and 30 passing yards is certainly impressive. Illinois didn’t do a great job against the run on last Saturday, giving up 182 yards.
If they want to find a way to beat this Indiana team, they’re going to have to be much better on that side of the ball.
Indiana Looking to Be Better than Last Season
Indiana was dealing with a few tough injuries last season and the rest of the Big Ten was pretty impressive throughout the year.
This might have been the most impressive that the Big Ten had been in quite some time, so it makes sense why they were dealing with injuries and also struggled due to the competition that they were facing.
The one thing that’s going to be looked at the most for Indiana this season is if they can do things on the offensive side of the ball.
They averaged only 290 yards per game a season ago, which ranked him last in the Big Ten. The team scored 15 points or fewer in eight of their 12 games and they’re not going to win many times if they continue doing things like that.
Lack of Quarterback
Their lack of quarterback play a season ago was a major issue for Indiana, but they’re hopeful that they’re going to be able to figure this out this season.
If they don’t figure things out at the quarterback position, they can expect a similar season to what they had a year ago. If Indiana doesn’t come out and play their best football, this is a game that they’re likely going to lose.
NCAAF Injury Report
Indiana currently has no injuries, while Illinois will be without Josh McCray and Shawn Miller.
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Indiana Hoosiers Betting Preview
Indiana is going to be coming into this one as a 3-point favorite, according to most sports books. They’re also going to be coming in at -150 on the money line and the over/under is going to be slotted at 45. Keep reading for our college football picks against the spread.
Indiana only had two wins against the spread last season. Last season, seven of Indiana’s 12 games hit the over.
Illinois went 7-5 against the spread a season ago. One interesting stat here is that Indiana was an underdog of 3 points or more in 10 contests last season and was able to win eight of those.
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Indiana Hoosiers Betting Prediction
We are now here with our Fighting Illini vs. Hoosiers Score Betting Prediction. The best pick of the night here is going to be taking Illinois to cover the 3-point spread.
We could get some more juice by adding them at +130 with NCAAF odds, but let’s take the points here and be safe.
NCAAF Most Profitable Team to Bet On
Indiana just simply hasn’t proven to us that they’re going to be a team that’s worthy of fearing this season and although that does have the possibility of chanFging
We have to go with what we saw them do last year and that was being one of the worst teams in a power 5 conference.
NCAAF Pick: Fighting Illini +3 (-110)
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