Game Time: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 20th, 2021

Venue: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa

Where to Watch:  FS1

Kickoff Time: 2:05 PM ET

 

DraftKings Sportsbook:  Spread: Iowa -13; Over/Under: 38.5 points

Circa:  Spread: Iowa -11.5; Over/Under:  38.5 points

VegasInsider:  Spread: Iowa -12; Over/Under: 38.5 points

 

Illinois: 3-4 conf, 4-6 overall (Big Ten)

Iowa: 5-2 conf, 8-2 overall (Big Ten) 

Illinois’ games this season will be remembered for just one… that big upset they put on Penn State!  On October 23rd Illinois beat the Penn State Nittany Lions 20-18 in an overtime thriller.  It also threw the Illinois NCAA football betting odds out of whack.  No bet has been safe since.  This could be a better team than we can see or it could be a bad team that had a good game?  The latest odds has Illinois as 11-point underdogs to Iowa.  Iowa beat Penn State by almost the same margin the week before.. College football picks hinge on the latest spread.

Everything was going great for Iowa this season.  They beat Iowa State, they beat Penn State… they were top ten for awhile!.. Then they lost to both the Purdue Boilermakers and the Wisconsin Badgers.  Now they are the #18 team in the nation and looking to finish the season strong for recruiting purposes and bowl game invites.  Ce’ La Vie.

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Illinois is 4-6 on the season, but 5-4 ATS.  They have logged 1 Over and 8 Unders.  They are 2-2 in road games.

Iowa is 8-2 on the season, but 6-4 ATS.  They have notched 3 Overs and 7 Unders.  They are 5-1 in home games.

The Illinois stats on offense are lame.  They are 122nd in points with 17.2 per, 118th in yards with 315.2 per.  They are 125th in passing yards and 54th in rushing yards.  They are a run heavy offense and the Illinois players gear up for grinding through blocking schemes.

Iowa is 94th in points 24.7 ppg, 124th in yards 297.2 ypg.  They are 107th in passing yards and 118th in rushing yards.  The Iowa stats on offense are bland and small… They hang their hats on defense. 

Illinois is 74th in the FBS on defense.  Illinois’ defense give up 390 ypg and have allowed 25 touchdowns.

Iowa is ranked 12th in the FBS on defense.  They have allowed 314.9 yards per game and a low low 18 TDs.  Iowa players know they are there to play team defense.  The defense has to support the Hawkeyes' offense. 

Our prediction for Saturday, November 13th, is…  Iowa 27 - Illinois 17

An 11-point spread is too much for Iowa to overcome especially as they have played 7 unders and Illinois has played 8 Unders.  This will be an Over… but Iowa won’t cover the spread.

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Illinois is 5-2 ATS in conference games this season.

Illinois is 6-2 ATS in november games the last 3 seasons.

Iowa ia 2-5 ATS as a favorite of 10.5 - 21 pts the last 3 seasons.

Iowa is 10-5 ATS off a win against a conference rival the last 3 seasons.

Illinois: QB Brandon Peters, RB Chase Brown, WR Isaiah Williams, WR Casey Washington, LT Vederian Lowe, LG Julian Pearl, OC Doug Cramer, RG Alex Pihlstrom, RT Alex Palczewski, TE Daniel Booker, TE Luke Ford

Iowa: QB Alex Padilla, RB Tyler Goodson, FB Monte Pottebaum, TE Sam LaPorta, WR Keagan Johnson, WR Nico Ragaini, LT Jack Plumb, LG Kyler Schott, OC Tyler Linderbaum, RG Connor Colby, RT Nick DeJong

Illinois: Brett Bielema.  Coach Bielema has an oddly spelled last name… and an oddly performing team at the moment.  They aren’t winners right now, but they can play with almost anyone.

Iowa: Kirk Ferentz.  Coach Ferentz could almost taste it… They had beaten Iowa St and Penn State… they were ranked higher than any preseason poll dared to put them… then they stunk it up two weeks in a row.  His consolation might be that he makes $4.5 million a year in a state where the average house sells for the price of a parking spot in New York City.

Partly Cloudy.  High of 55* Humidity at 56% and wind at 11 mph.