Illinois Fighting Illini vs Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/26/2026

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 26, 2026

Venue:  Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH

Where to Watch:  FOX

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Illinois +27.5, Ohio State -27.5; Over/Under:  53.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Illinois +27.5, Ohio State -27.5; Over/Under:  53.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Illinois +27, Ohio State -27; Over/Under:  53.5 points

Illinois Fighting Illini:  2-1 (0-0) (10th place, Big Ten)

Ohio State Buckeyes:  2-1 (0-0) (10th place, Big Ten)

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Illinois Fighting Illini:  won their last game at home against the Southern Illinois Salukis 48-10.

Ohio State Buckeyes:  won their last game at home against the Kent State Golden Flashes 59-3.

Illinois is entering this game with a 2-1 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 2-1 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Southern Illinois 48-10. Katin Houser was the starting QB and he completed 23/29 passes for 305 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Aidan Laughery led the team in rushing yards with 93 and 1 TD. Collin Dixon led the receivers with 131 receiving yards on 8 receptions and 2 TDs. Juice Clarke led the defense in that game with 7 tackles while Darrell Prater and Joe Barna each led the defense in sacks with 0.5. Matthew Bailey came away with the only interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Ohio State is entering this game with a 2-1 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 2-0 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against Kent State 59-3. Julian Sayin was the starting QB and he completed 18/22 passes for 241 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Bo Jackson led the team in rushing yards with 73 and 1 TD. Jeremiah Smith led the receivers with 85 receiving yards on 8 receptions. Will Smith Jr. and Jason Moore each led the defense in that game with 5 tackles while Jason Moore and Will Smith Jr. each led the defense in sacks with 0.5. Riley Pettijohn came away with the only interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Ohio State listed as a 27.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Ohio State has looked good in their games this season with their 2-1 record overall so far. They have looked great on their home field too with their 2-0 home record this season. Meanwhile, Illinois has looked good in their games this season with their 2-1 record overall so far. They haven't played any road games though and will be playing their 1st road game of the season here. They are coming off a 48-10 win over a team from the FCS and bounced back after losing a home game the week before, but they did lose at home to Duke who isn't that great. Duke is coming off a good season winning the ACC Championship, but they weren't good enough to be a CFP team with 5 losses on the season and now they have lost a lot of that talent from last season. That wasn't a good loss for Illinois at home and now they are going on the road for their 1st road game of the season and their 1st conference game of the season, playing against one of the best teams in the nation. Ohio State is coming off a 59-3 win over Kent State in their last one and that was a nice bounce back win for them after blowing a 23-3 lead in Texas the week before and losing 24-23 to the Longhorns. Ohio State bounced back, but their 2 wins have also been against Ball State and Kent State, so they haven't really been able to flex their muscles other than the game against Texas which they choked away. They will still be looking to prove themselves now that they are playing a good opponent in the conference who has been near the top of the Big Ten the last few seasons. Illinois isn't as good as they were last season, but they aren't a bad team in the Big Ten either, so this is a great game for Ohio State to overwhelm Illinois and show that they are still the class of the Big Ten. Illinois also had trouble keeping the game within reach of Ohio State last season at home and that was a better Illinois team, so look for Ohio State to come out strong and roll in their 1st conference game here. The best way to place a bet here is on Ohio State to cover the spread in this game. 

Illinois Ohio State Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 26, 2026 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Ohio State 42 Illinois 13.

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Illinois Fighting Illini: 5-10 ATS as a road underdog of 21.5 to 28 points. 32-49 ATS when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%). 37-22 UNDER after scoring 37 points or more last game. 30-13 UNDER vs. good passing defenses - allowing 5.75 or less passing yards/att.

Ohio State Buckeyes: 61-39 ATS when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 60-39 ATS vs. good passing teams averaging 8 or more passing yards/att. 72-38 ATS versus good rushing teams - averaging 4.75 rushing yards/carry or more. 31-24 UNDER after 3 or more consecutive wins against the spread. 7-1 UNDER as a favorite of 21.5 to 31 points.

Illinois Fighting Illini:  J. Platt (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Brown (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. K. Alston (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. N. Rankin (WR) Questionable - Leg. W. Vala III (TE) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Harvey (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Forster (RB) Questionable - Knee. J. Eberhart (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. G. Smith (TE) Out - Undisclosed. B. Thurman (TE) Out - Foot. A. Perry (WR) Out - Shoulder. T. Hollinger (TE) Out - Undisclosed.

Ohio State Buckeyes:  K. Parker (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. B. Jackson (RB) Questionable - Shoulder. L. Bey (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. Z. Grady (DL) Out - Undisclosed.

“Collin's start is incredible. He's extremely talented, so humble, and he works his absolute (backside) off every day. He's really special.” - Bret Bielema after his team’s win against Southern Illinois in their last game. 

“You’re looking for a response out of a group of guys coming off of last week, which I thought we did. And regardless of the opponent, you want clean execution on offense and you want a bunch of running and hitting on defense, and energy and passion and violence running around, which I thought we did.” - Ryan Day after his team’s win against Kent State in their last game.  

WR Dixon, Collin

WR Clement, Hudson

WR Trimble, Brayden

TE Abney, Christian

QB Houser, Katin

RB Valentine, Ca'Lil

WR Smith, Jeremiah

WR McCuin, Devin

WR Inniss, Brandon

TE Roberts, Nate

QB Sayin, Julian

RB Jackson, Bo

Passing: Katin Houser (758)

Rushing: Ca'Lil Valentine (177)

Receiving: Collin Dixon (367)

Touchdowns: Collin Dixon (7)

Passing: Julian Sayin (839)

Rushing: Bo Jackson (230)

Receiving: Jeremiah Smith (400)

Touchdowns: Ja'Kobi Jackson (4)

Coaches:

Illinois Fighting Illini: Bret Bielema (6th season)

Ohio State Buckeyes: Ryan Day (9th season)