Illinois Football: Betting odds and advice for the Illini vs Iowa

Illinois football will be playing under the lights on Saturday night when we take on the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Illini come into this game 4-1 and we have received votes to be in the AP Top 25. This is exciting for the fanbase, and now we get to go up against an Iowa team that has had our number in recent years.

What does FanDuel think about the Illini and the potential for us to come out victorious this Saturday, though?

Here are the betting odds and advice for the Illinois football team vs Iowa.

Spread: Illinois -3.5; Iowa +3.5

I don’t know exactly how long it has been since Illinois has been a favorite against Iowa, but we are coming into this game giving the Hawkeyes 3.5 points.

That is a little scary to me considering Illinois has lost to Iowa in eight straight games, and the closest scoring margin was nine points twice. During this stretch, they averaged beating the Illini by 22.25 points.

Iowa’s defense is still good. They are going to be able to hold Illinois little points on offense. They competed against Michigan well last week too.

At the end of the day, I think this could be one of those gross low-scoring games that aren’t appealing to the eye. In this type of game, the score usually tends to be close. That is why I am taking Iowa and the points.

Prediction: Iowa +3.5

Moneyline: Illinois -166; Iowa +138

This moneyline is tricky. Again, it is all about value. I think Iowa is getting good value at +138 because of the history of the two teams.

In college football, when one team has another team’s number, that is usually the case regardless of how good or bad each team is that season. That seems to be the case in this matchup.

Illinois hasn’t beaten Iowa since 2008. That is eight straight losses for the Illini. On top of that, we have only beaten the Hawkeyes two times since the turn of the century. That means Illinois is 2-13 in the last 15 matchups.

I believe this game is honestly a coin flip. If you want value, Iowa is probably a good bet here. If you want who I think will win, I say Illinois in a really close game.

Prediction: Illinois

Over/Under: 36.5 points

FanDuel sees that this game is a matchup of two great defenses and two offenses that have some work to do.

They set the line at over/under 36.5 points, which is an amazingly low over/under. That means each team is likely to score under 20 points. Honestly, though, I tend to agree with the over/under.

This game is going to be a low-scoring affair. Iowa is averaging 16.4 points per game this season, and the only reason it is that high is the fact they ran into a couple of bad defenses in Nevada and Rutgers.

Illinois’ offense has been okay this season, as we are averaging 29.4 points per game. But the number could be a little skewed. We put up 31 points last week against Wisconsin, but our defense should be credited with some of those points. The Illini offense only had two scoring drives over 50 yards against Wisconsin. Illinois hasn’t exactly played quality opponents this season either.

On the flip side, both Illinois and Iowa have great defenses. The Illini are giving up an insane 8.4 points per game while Iowa is not too far behind at 10 points per game allowed.

Two average offenses are going up against two of the best defenses in the country. A turnover or two could ruin the over/under, but for now, I am sticking with the under. I think this game could finish 10-7 in favor of Illinois.

Prediction: Under 36.5 points

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.