Game Information
Illinois Fighting Illini (5-3) vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-4)
Time: 11am CT Saturday
How to watch: NBC
DraftKings Odds
Spread: Illinois -13.5
Total: 62.5
The Illinois Fighting Illini look to begin a strong closing stretch to the season when they host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday in Champaign.
The Illini lost 42-25 at Washington last week, effectively ending their hopes to make the College Football Playoff. This game against Rutgers has the potential to be the “dreamcrusher” spot, which means a letdown in the game after a team’s championship dreams die.
But I don’t see it that way for Saturday.
The Illini are a good team, but they’re not in the upper echelon of college football. Their three losses have come against the top two teams in the country in Ohio State and Indiana and against a Washington team that was favored to win last week.
The Illini have won and covered each of the games they were expected to win, and they also upset USC as a 6.5-point underdog.
Illinois is certainly expected to win this game against Rutgers as a 13.5-point favorite, and instead of having a hangover from their CFP dreams dying, I expect the Illini to handle their business and finish the season strong against a schedule where they should be favored in each of their last four games.
Illinois is not a perennial national power, and a 9-3 season should be considered a success. I think the Illini have a very good chance to achieve that record, and I think they’ll be motivated to do so.
Congratulations to Rutgers on the win over a woeful Purdue team last week. But color me unimpressed.
The Scarlet Knights are a terrible defensive team. Here are their national ranks:
108th in rushing yards allowed per game
117th in passing yards allowed per game
125th in total yards allowed per game
115th in scoring defense
Look for Illinois to let out some frustration on Saturday and win comfortably.
Lean: Illinois -13.5 at -108 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. Get Eric's picks for all sports by following him in the Action Network app with the username "esontag". Disclaimer