Illinois Football vs Virginia Cavaliers: Prediction and odds for week 2 college football

Illinois football welcomes in a familiar foe in the Virginia Cavaliers this weekend.

The Illini are coming off a tough loss to Indiana this past Saturday. Illinois had the lead in the game with under two minutes remaining. This was apparently too much time for the Hoosiers, as they would drive down the field and win the game.

Virginia fared much better in their week one matchup. They took on the Richmond Spiders of the FCS and beat them 34-17. The Cavaliers had this game in control for the entirety and look to be the strong program we saw last season.

Illinois football vs Virginia Cavaliers odds for week 2

Moneyline

• FanDuel: Illinois – 205, Virginia +168
• WynnBET: Illinois – 190, Virginia +155

Spread

• FanDuel: Illinois – 4.5
• WynnBET: Illinois – 4.5

Over/Under

• FanDuel: 56.6 points
• WynnBET: 56.5 points

Illinois football vs Virginia Cavaliers prediction for week 2

As an Illinois fan, it excites me that we are favored heading into the game against Virginia. But, honestly, these lines puzzle me.

On Saturday, we will be a day short of the 2021 matchup between Illinois and Virginia where the Cavaliers pounded the Illini 42-14. Virginia’s quarterback, Brennan Armstrong, torched us for 405 yards and five touchdowns through the air. He also sprinkled in 31 yards on the ground.

Armstrong is back and has Virginia 1-0 so far this season. We are going to get, roughly, the same Cavaliers squad we saw in 2021. Illinois is a little better, though.

Tommy DeVito is a better quarterback than Artur Sitkowski, who went 24-of-45 against Virginia last season. I also believe the Illini has an identity this time around. In 2021, we were still trying to figure things out. Illinois knows we are a running team with a solid quarterback.

I do worry that Illinois’ defense isn’t as good. I think our front seven is one of the best in the Big Ten, but our secondary really worries me. Armstrong is a very accurate quarterback.

If you are betting the moneyline, I think Virginia has a tremendous value at +168 and +155 on FanDuel and WynnBET, respectively. It pains me to say that, but Virginia is a good team and you are getting nearly double your money to bet them.

For the spread, I think Illinois is going to keep this game close. The Illini only had two double-digit losses last season. It could have been a fluke that we got pounded by Virginia. I am going to go out on a limb and say Illinois covers the spread here. Take the Illini +4.5.

Ryan Walters is an amazing defensive coordinator for the Illini. I think Illinois probably gives up around 24-28 points, and we will score around that as well. A combined score with both teams in the 20s will most likely give you an under 56.5 points result. So, take the under.

Overall, I think Illinois plays much better against Virginia than they did in 2021. This will be a close game. I predict the final score will be 28-24 in favor of the Cavaliers.