Game Information
#22 Illinois Fighting Illini (4-1) at Purdue Boilermakers (2-2)
Time: 11am CT Saturday
How to watch: Big Ten Network
DraftKings Odds
Spread: Illinois -8.5
Total: 55.5
The #22 Illinois Fighting Illini head to West Lafayette to take on the Purdue Boilermakers in an 11am kickoff on Saturday
Illinois is coming off a massive 34-32 win over USC last weekend courtesy of a walk-off field goal. That was a huge bounceback victory after the embarrassing 63-10 loss at Indiana the week prior.
This is a classic sandwich spot for the Illini, with this game stuck in the middle of last week’s emotional win over USC and #1 Ohio State visiting Champaign next Saturday.
This very much has the makings of a trap game for Illinois, as Purdue is coming off a bye and has had two weeks to prepare for this game.
I also don’t think the Boilermakers are as bad as they were expected to be. They played USC in their only other previous Big Ten game this season. Purdue fell 33-17, but that game very easily could have been much closer. The Boilermakers committed 3 turnovers in the red zone, including a pick-6. If they would have taken care of the ball in the red zone, Purdue would have kept it close and even potentially won the game.
So I fully expect the Boilermakers to be competitive here, and for whatever reason, they have owned the Illini in recent years. Purdue had beaten Illinois four straight times up until last season. The Illini finally broke through with a win last year as a 22.5 point favorite, but the final score was 50-49 in overtime.
While I do think Illinois will win this game straight up, I am willing to throw a wager on Purdue to cover the spread. There is heavy sharp action on the Boilermakers that has brought the line down from 10.5 to 8.5, and as of the time of this writing, Purdue is getting 57% of the bets and 96% of the money. That means there is some big time professional money on the Boilermakers, and when in doubt, ride with the pros.
Pick: Purdue +8.5 at -112 on DraftKings (bet to +7.5)
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