Game Information
#23 Illinois Fighting Illini (5-2) at Washington Huskies (5-2)
Time: 2:30pm CT Saturday
How to watch: Big Ten Network
DraftKings Odds
Spread: Washington -3.5
Total: 54.5
A pair of 5-2 teams duke it out on Saturday afternoon when the #23 Illinois Fighting Illini travel to face the Washington Huskies in what is essentially an elimination game in the College Football Playoff race.
This game is of particular importance for the Illini, as they will likely be favored in each of their four remaining games after this one.
I think we may be in for a shootout on Saturday in Seattle.
Illinois wasn’t able to do much offensively in its two losses this season, but those defeats came against what are now the #1 and #2 teams in the country in Ohio State and Indiana. In their other three games this season against power conference opponents, the Illini are averaging over 40 points scored per game
It’s a pretty similar story for Washington. The Huskies struggled against two really good defenses in Ohio State and Michigan, but they also scored 59 at Washington State, 24 at Maryland, and 38 against Rutgers.
Both offenses should be able to move the ball through the air, as Washington’s pass defense ranks 89th in the country and Illinois is even worse at 93rd.
And both defenses struggle to get off the field on 3rd down. The Huskies’ defense ranks 97th in the country in 3rd down conversion percentage, while the Illini’s defense ranks a woeful 118th in that category.
I think this game is a toss-up regarding who comes away with the victory, but I think we’ll see plenty of points in this one.
Lean: Over 54.5 at -110 on DraftKings
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