Illinois at Nebraska Betting Guide: Our Best Bet for Friday, September 20

Who doesn’t love Friday Night College Football, especially a Big Ten matchup in Lincoln, Nebraska? We have an undefeated matchup, where we should see a lower-scoring game, and Nebraska sees the best defense they have seen to date.

This should be a good Friday night matchup, setting us up for an exciting weekend of ball! Enjoy this Big Ten battle! Good luck!

Illini Defense Must Show Up

This is going to be a tight game if the Illinois defense can step up and continue what it’s done through the first 3 games of the season. They have allowed just 26 points, and though 2 of the teams may not have been high caliber, it still shows that Bret Bielema’s defense is a tough unit.

This will by far be Dylan Raiola’s toughest defense he has seen, allowing just 277 yards, tied for 5th in the nation with 3 takeaways, and 31st in the country in passing yards allowed. If Illinois can slow the Nebraska rushing attack they could stay in range all game.

This defensive unit has the players and schemes to confuse Raiola and possibly force him into some ill-advised throws. With the Illini pass defense sitting at 13th in the nation in EPA, Raiola and Nebraska are sure to emphasize the running game, which could slow the pace of the game, which falls into Illinois’ hands.

The Offense Can Do Just Enough

Yes, this is Luke Altmyer’s first true road start of the season, and is going into a hostile environment, but he put up better road split numbers last season. In 4 road starts on the road, he put up 142 passer rating, 67% completion percentage, 7.3 yards per pass attempt, and accounted for 9 touchdowns to 4 interceptions.

If Altmyer can limit the turnovers, find Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin for a couple explosive plays, and Illinois find consistent success rushing Kaden Feagin, this spread is simply too much. I truly believe they need a balanced offensive attack to compete here with Nebraksa. I see this as more of a 3-6 point game for Nebraska rather than 9-10.

Of course there is a world where Nebraska just runs away with this game, they did win last year 26-9, but I trust Bielema to call a tough defensive game, and keep his offense under control. Illinois lost to Kansas last season and recently redeemed that loss; I think Illinois can keep this one closer than last year as well.

My Best Bet: Illinois +9 (-120) ESPNBet