The long anticipated Big Ten opener against Illinois is here.
With both teams off to 3-0 starts, No. 17/19 Indiana hosts No. 8/9 Illinois this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC).
Led by head coach Bret Bielema, the Fighting Illini are averaging 45 points per game, good for 14th in the nation, and they are giving up 7.3 a contest, good for No. 5. Their wins have come against Western Illinois (52-3), at Duke (45-19), and Western Michigan (38-0).
Bielema is 128-80 all-time as a head coach, 31-22 at Illinois, and 13-3 over the last two seasons.
Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer is off to a strong start, completing 56 of 78 (71.8%) of his throws for 709 yards, with eight touchdowns and no interceptions.
So what’s the outlook for this Saturday in Bloomington? Although Illinois is the higher-ranked team, it’s difficult to find a forecast that favors them.
The gambling forecast opened with Indiana as a 3-point favorite, and as of Monday morning most sports books are calling IU around a 4.5-point favorite.
ESPN’s FPI model gives IU a 62.8% chance to win vs Illinois. The Hoosiers are No. 16 in FPI while the Illini are No. 23. Both teams have moved up several spots since the start of the season. ESPN’s SP+ model projects a 28-24 IU win and gives them a 60% probability to pull it out.
The early weather forecast for Saturday evening is calling for temperatures in the high 70s and at least a chance of rain. Obviously you’ll want to check back on that later in the week.
We will of course have much more on this game in the days to come.
To help you plan for this Saturday, here are the gameday details for Memorial Stadium in Bloomington:
GAMEDAY TIMELINE
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