Game Information
#11 Illinois Fighting Illini (1-0) at Duke Blue Devils (1-0)
Time: 11am CT Saturday
How to watch: ESPN
DraftKings Odds
Spread: Illinois -2.5
Total: 48.5
The #11 Illinois Fighting Illini hit the road on Saturday to face the Duke Blue Devils in a Big Ten vs. ACC matchup.
Both teams posted wins over FCS schools last weekend in their season openers, with Illinois crushing Western Illinois 52-3 and Duke posting a 45-17 victory over Elon.
However, the Blue Devils had some cracks in their performance that don’t have me buying them as a trendy upset pick in what is a relatively weak college football slate this weekend.
Duke and Elon were tied at the half, and the game was in doubt in the 4th quarter with a 7-point margin until the Blue Devils pulled away with three touchdowns in the final 11:28 of the game.
Duke’s run defense struggled, as they allowed Elon to rush for 163 yards.
There is also a lot of buzz around Duke’s transfer quarterback Darian Mensah, who put up impressive numbers in the win over Elon by going 27-for-34 for 389 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. But I’m also not buying him. He averaged just 209 yards passing per game last year with Tulane, so I think the elite Illinois secondary can contain Duke through the air.
You can’t take much away from Illinois’ season opener due to the opponent, but I trust Bret Bielema and I trust the continuity of a team that went 10-3 last season and has 16 returning starters.
And lastly, while the public is liking the Illini in this matchup, the sharp money likes them as well. As of the time of this writing, Illinois is getting 59% of the bets and 69% of the money.
I will gladly bet Illinois with only having to lay less than a field goal.
Pick: Illinois -2.5 at -115 on DraftKings (bet to -3)
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Wednesday night on the STL Sports Central YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Picks = betting the game - minus odds betting to win 1 unit, plus odds risking 1 unit. Leans = no strong opinion, not betting the game. Disclaimer