Illinois-Purdue
Saturday, Oct. 4
12 p.m. Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific
Big Ten Network
Illinois knows that in order to make the College Football Playoff, it can’t lose more than two games in the regular season. It was absolutely essential that Illinois rebounded from its loss to Indiana. The Fighting Illini could have fallen to 0-2 in the Big Ten. Instead, with the win over USC in Week 5, they are 1-1 and can make a run at a playoff berth in the next two months. All of Illinois’ main goals for the season are still in play. However, Illinois is also aware that it can’t slip and give away a game it is expected to win. That fits the description of this upcoming game at Purdue. Illinois is favored by almost 10 points. The Illini certainly showed against USC that their line play is capable of setting a high standard. Their offensive line dominated USC’s defensive line, and their defense was able to hold USC to 32 points after the Trojans had been posting north of 40 points in a majority of their first four games.
Illinois was terrible against Indiana, and we wondered if the Illini were actually an average football team this season. The USC game reaffirmed that Illinois has a high ceiling. Now the Illini have to show that they can be their best selves on a consistent basis. The USC game can’t be an aberration or an isolated incident.
Illinois’ focus will be tested in Big Ten road game
Illinois has to reset after a huge season-saving win over USC
This game will test Illinois in a very different way compared to the USC win. In that game one week ago, Illinois was trying to rebound from a total clunker, a thoroughly embarrassing game. Now Illinois has to turn the page mentally and get past a win. A lot of casual fans think losses are harder to bounce back from, and sometimes that is true. However, wins can easily be hard to deal with. Teams can become overconfident and lose their focus from the previous week. They put so much energy into a huge win that they are emotionally spent for the next game and are caught flat-footed. Illinois has to avoid that against Purdue, a team which is gunning for an upset at home under first-year head coach Barry Odom.
Illinois Fighting Illini-Purdue Boilermakers Odds
Hear TJ Rives and Jason Powers break down this game on the 3Dog Thursday Podcast by clicking Play below:
Spread: Illinois -9.5 (-110), Purdue +9.5 (-110)
Total: 55.5 (Over -115, Under -105)
Underdog moneyline: Purdue +300
The reality of this game is that Illinois is better and should be better, but the Illini could be ripe for a letdown after beating USC on the last play of a nationally-televised Fox Big Noon Saturday game. Illinois could take Purdue lightly, and that could be all the Boilermakers need to keep this game close and cover the 9.5-point spread. This game isn’t as obvious to pick as one might first think.
Our recommendation is to stay away from a pregame bet and consider a live-betting angle midway through the first half if you see a line which makes sense on either side.