In theory, No. 6 Wisconsin should have little trouble on Saturday winning at a bad Illinois team, but the Badgers have to be careful not to be looking ahead to next week’s mega-showdown at Ohio State. UW is a big NCAAF betting favorite for this one.
How to Bet Wisconsin vs Illinois College Football Week 8 Odds & Game Info
- When: Saturday, noon ET
- Where: Memorial Stadium, Champaign
- TV: Big Ten Network
- Live Stream: BTN2Go
- Radio: SiriusXM
- College Football Week 8 Odds: Wisconsin -31 (Total 49.5)
Wisconsin vs Illinois Last Meeting
Last year, the Badgers were 49-20 home winners over Illinois. Jonathan Taylor rushed for 159 yards and Taiwan Deal ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns as the Badgers took advantage of five first-half turnovers to rout Illinois. Wisconsin, which has won nine straight against Illinois, had three interceptions and recovered two fumbles on the way to building a 28-10 halftime lead. Illinois was 2 of 12 on third downs and all three interceptions occurred on third down.
Wisconsin leads the overall series 42-36-7. Wisconsin and Illinois played in the final tie game in FBS history, closing the 1995 season with a 3-3 draw on Nov. 25 in Madison. Overtime was introduced the following season.
Weather Forecast
- Partly Cloudy: 21°C/69°F
- Humidity: 61%
- Precipitation: 20%
- Cloud Cover: 56%
- Wind: 11 mph SSW
- Stadium Type: Open
Why Bet on Wisconsin?
UW comes off a 38-0 beatdown of Michigan State last Saturday. Jonathan Taylor rushed for two touchdowns, and Wisconsin’s defense posted its fourth shutout of the season. Michigan State was held to 149 yards, 30 rushing, and couldn’t find any rhythm as the Badgers dominated time of possession 39:10 to 20:50.
The Badgers scored their 4th defensive touchdown of the season on a 34-yard interception return by OLB Zack Baun in the fourth quarter. UW’s defense has allowed just 4 touchdowns to opponents on the year. Michigan State converted just 2 of 14 third-down opportunities. On the season, Wisconsin’s opponents have converted just 13 of 83 third downs (15.7 percent).
Jack Coan completed his first seven passes for Wisconsin (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) and finished 18 of 21 for 180 yards and a touchdown to win his eighth straight start since last season. UW is the only FBS team that has not trailed in a game this season.
With 4,996 career rushing yards Taylor needs just 4 more rushing yards to join Georgia’s Herschel Walker (5,596), Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne (5,091) and Oregon’s LaMichael James (5,082) as the only FBS players to rush for 5,000 yards through their junior season. The nation’s leading scorer, Taylor has accounted for 18 total touchdowns (14 rushing, 4 receiving) on the season.
A win Saturday would give Wisconsin a third active win streak of 10-plus games over a Big Ten opponent. The Badgers have won 13 straight over Purdue and 10 straight over Indiana. Wisconsin has won 6 of its last 7 trips to Champaign, including 4 straight (2011, ’13, ’15, ’17).
Team Stats
Offense- Points per Game: 43.40
- Passing Yards: 202.40
- Rushing Yards: 254.00
- Yards per Play: 6.36
- Points per Game: 5.80
- Passing Yards: 131.00
- Rushing Yards: 47.60
- Yards per Play: 3.09
Why Bet on Illinois?
Illinois is off a 42-25 home loss to Michigan. The Illini rallied from a 28-point deficit to cut the lead to three, but No. 16 Michigan prevailed. With an eight-yard run in the first quarter, senior running back Reggie Corbin passed football legend Red Grange for 15th all-time in Illinois history in career rushing yards. Corbin finished the game with 2,082 yards for his career, 21 yards behind Chubby Phillips (1973-76) for 14th. Corbin’s career yards per carry of 7.0 ranks third among all active FBS players with at least 200 carries and is the most for any Illini with at least 2,000 career rushing yards.
Sophomore QB Matt Robinson was 16-for-25 passing for 192 yards and one touchdown in his first career start. Junior WR Josh Imatorbhebhe had five receptions for 102 yards and one touchdown, his first career 100+-yard receiving game and Illinois’ first 100+-yard receiving game of the season.
Defensive Powerhouse
Senior defensive back Stanley Green forced a fumble in the second quarter, his eighth career forced fumble, and also recovered two fumbles. Green’s eight career forced fumbles is tied for third in Illinois history with Dana Howard (1990-94). Simeon Rice (13 from 1992-95) and Whitney Mercilus (11 from 2009-11) are the only Illini with more forced fumbles than Green.
The Illini lead the nation in both forced fumbles (11) and fumble recoveries (10). The defense also ranks fifth in FBS in defensive touchdowns (2), seventh in turnovers gained (2.33 per game), and 16th in turnover margin (+0.83). Illinois ranks fourth in the nation in tackles for loss per game (8.8).
It’s Homecoming at Illinois. Illinois has an all-time record of 45-61-2 on Homecoming, with its last victory coming against Minnesota in 2014. This year marks the 13th time overall and the third time in the last five years that the Illini will host Wisconsin on Homecoming. Illinois is 8-4 all-time in Homecoming games against the Badgers.
Team Stats
Offense- Points per Game: 31.80
- Passing Yards: 190.20
- Rushing Yards: 163.20
- Yards per Play: 5.15
- Points per Game: 28.40
- Passing Yards: 240.20
- Rushing Yards: 186.60
- Yards per Play: 5.78
Wisconsin vs Illinois College Football Week 8 Betting Trends
- Over is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings
- Favorite is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 meetings
- Home team is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 meetings
- Badgers are 6-1 SU in their last 7 games when playing on the road against Illinois
- Badgers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games this season
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Wisconsin’s last 8 games against an opponent in the Big 10 conference
- Fighting Illini are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games this season
- Fighting Illini are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games played in week 8
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Illinois’ last 6 games at home
Expert Final Score Prediction for Wisconsin vs Illinois
Wisconsin 40 – Illinois 14
More Week 7 NCAAF Betting News
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