Illinois Fighting Illini vs Indiana Hoosiers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/02/2022

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Friday, September 2, 2022

Venue:  Indiana University Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN

Where to Watch:  Fox Sports 1

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Illinois +3, Indiana -3; Over/Under:  47.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Illinois +3, Indiana -3; Over/Under:  47.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Illinois +4.5, Indiana -4.5; Over/Under:  48.5 points

 

Illinois Fighting Illini:  1-0 (2nd place, Big Ten West)

Indiana Hoosiers:  0-0 (Big Ten East)

 

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Illinois Fighting Illini:  won their last game at home 38-6 against the Wyoming Cowboys.

Indiana Hoosiers:  N/A

 

Illinois is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall to start their college football season and they will be playing their 1st road game of the season here. They won against the Wyoming Cowboys in their last game at home 38-6 in Week 0. Tommy Devito started that game at QB and he completed 27/37 passes for 194 yards and 2 TDs. Chase Brown led the team in rushing with 151 yards and 2 touchdowns on 19 rushing attempts while Pat Bryant led the team in receiving with 44 yards and 1 TD on 3 receptions. Jartavius Martin led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles. Devon Witherspoon had the only interception for the team in that game while no one on the defense recorded a sack in that one.

 

 

 

Indiana is playing their season opener here on Friday and this will also be their first home game on the college football schedule this season. They finished last season with a 2-10 record overall and were 1-5 in their home games. They were also 0-9 with their conference record and finished in 7th place in the Big Ten East. They did not end their season with a Bowl game as their record was not good enough to become Bowl eligible. Their offense was averaging 291.8 YPG and 17.2 PPG while their defense was allowing 384.3 YPG and 33.2 PPG against them. Michael Penix Jr. led the team in passing with 939 passing yards, Stephen Carr led the team in rushing with 600 rushing yards, and Peyton Hendershot led the team in receiving with 543 receiving yards. 

The current betting odds have Illinois listed as a 3 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is the first game of the season for Indiana but their opponents are already very warned up as they are coming off of a 38-6 win in Week 0. Indiana was not a very good team last season and they made a lot of changes this season as they do not have any of their leaders in yardage or their starting QB returning to the team this year. They do not have much of an upgrade either going with Jack Tuttle as their QB and breaking in a few other new players into this offense as well. Illinois already got rolling in their last game and they looked really good in that game as well. They were a good defensive team last season but they will show a lot of improvement this year with their returning players and they already know any adjustments they need to make from their last game. Indiana is pretty much going into this game with a new offense, trying to improve on an awful offense last season, but they have not had a chance to actually test out their new players in a real game and Illinois could catch them off guard with that good defense and the way they were moving the ball so well in their last game. The best way to place a bet here is on Illinois to cover the spread here as they could upset Indiana in this game.

 

Illinois Indiana Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, September 2, 2022 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Illinois 31 Indiana 21.

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Illinois Fighting Illini: 30-21 ATS after a game where they committed no turnovers. 4-0 ATS when the total is between 42.5 and 49. 8-1 UNDER after playing a game at home.

Indiana Hoosiers: 21-31 ATS when the line is +3 to -3. 6-12 ATS in a home game where the total is between 42.5 and 49. 5-1 UNDER in the first half of the season.

 

 

Illinois Fighting Illini:  D. Leary (QB) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed.

Indiana Hoosiers:  D. Matthews Jr. (WR) Prob Fri - Knee.

 

 

“I know who the starting quarterback is, the starting QB knows who the starting quarterback is and our team knows that.” - Bret Bielema on who the starting QB is this season.

 

 

"I don’t know if I’ve ever had this happen before like this. As a matter of fact I would say we haven’t, so very unique for sure. We’re going to see if what we’ve been working on has been on point or if we need to make adjustments." - Tom Allen on the abnormal start to the season with a lot of their upcoming opponents playing in Week 0.

 

 

 

WR Washington, Casey

WR Bryant, Pat

WR Williams, Isaiah 

TE Ford, Luke 

QB DeVito, Tommy 

RB Brown, Chase 

 

WR Swinton, Javon

WR Camper, Cam

WR Matthews Jr., D.J. 

TE Barner, AJ

QB Tuttle, Jack

RB Shivers, Shaun 

 

 

Passing: T. Devito (194)

Rushing: C. Brown (151)

Receiving: P. Bryant (44)

Touchdowns: C. Brown (2)

 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

 

Coaches:

Illinois Fighting Illini: Bret Bielema (2nd season)

Indiana Hoosiers: Tom Allen (7th season)