This is not a drill! Not only is college football back for Week 0, but Illinois is officially one week away from its season opener on Thursday, September 3. You know what that means; it's time to start looking at how things are shaping up for the Illini before they face off against UAB.
Illinois head coach Bret Bielema will roll out a team with a lot of new faces in new places this season, and the Illini are already dealing with some injuries that are shifting a few things around. Even with that, though, Illinois is expected to dominate its season-opener against American Conference member UAB.
So, for the first time this season, let's look at the odds for UAB and Illinois and make an early prediction at the start of game week.
Early odds for UAB vs. Illinois in Week 1
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Spread
- UAB: +28.5
- Illinois: -28.5
Moneyline
- UAB: +2200
- Illinois: -8000
Total
- O/U: 56.5 (-110/-110)
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Early prediction for Week 1 matchup between UAB and Illinois
Illinois will have a new quarterback under center for the first time in two seasons, with Luke Altmyer now in the NFL. Instead of handing the offense over to a young, inexperienced QB, Bielema chose to hit the transfer portal for some experience and landed on ECU's Katin Houser.
If you believe everything that has come out of fall camp, and you should, Houser is going to have no problem leading this offense, but his wide receiver room has taken some hits. For yet another year, Illinois didn't see its leading receiver return to Champaign, but to be fair, Hank Beatty was out of eligibility. So, who will step up in that spot? Well, there are two easy answers.
Both Collin Dixon and Hudsom Clement bring the most experience to this pass-catching group, and with the latest injury to Jayshon Platt, they will probably be leaned on a lot in the pass game. Dixon was Illinois' second-leading receiver last season with 548 yards on 35 receptions, which was 35 fewer than leading receiver Beatty.
So, the obvious prediction here is that Illinois will walk away with the win over UAB, but I am going to go one step further. I predict that not only will Houser have a big debut for the Illini behind a new offensive line, but Dixon will be his top receiver.
Even though the starters could come out early in the second half if the Illini have a big enough lead, I could easily see Dixon with over 100 receiving yards in this matchup, a feat he never accomplished last season. Dixon has the chance to really solidify himself as Illinois' WR1, especially going into a power conference matchup against Duke in Week 2.
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