Illinois Fighting Illini vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 11/26/2022 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Saturday, November 26, 2022

Location: Ryan Field in Evanston, IL

TV: BTN

Odds/Point Spread: Wildcats (+10.5)

Total/Over-Under: 36

The Illinois Fighting Illini (7-4) are on their way to Ryan Field on Saturday where they will take on the Northwestern Wildcats (1-10). Illinois opens this game as 10.5-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The total has been set at 36.

The Illinois Fighting Illini come into this matchup with a record of 7-4 for this season. In their last matchup, the Fighting Illini played the Michigan Wolverines and went home with a loss by a final score of 19-17. Chase Brown was the leader on the ground for the Fighting Illini with 29 totes for 140 yards (4.8 yds per attempt). Tommy Devito connected on 21/30 with 178 yards passing. He had a quarterback rate of 119.8 and finished the game without throwing a pick. On the ground, the Fighting Illini conceded 168 yards on 40 tries, which averages out to 4.2 yds per run surrendered. Illinois allowed 18 completions on 34 attempts for 208 yds, and a completion rate of 52.9%. When all was said and done, they ran 64 plays which totaled 326 yards. The Illinois Fighting Illini ran the football 34 different times and totaled 148 yards, which is an average of 4.4 yds per attempt.

The Fighting Illini currently have 4,347 yards in total for the season. When it comes to getting in the endzone, Illinois has earned 15 passing touchdowns and 14 touchdowns on the ground. They have surrendered the football 15 times. Illinois has 239 first downs, and they have committed 77 penalties for 732 yds. As a team they're averaging 180.3 yards in the run game ranking them 49th in the country. Regarding scoring, the Illinois Fighting Illini hold an average of 24.0 PPG.

The Fighting Illini are sitting in 3rd in the nation regarding the opposition scoring, conceding 13.1 points per game. They are allowing teams to run for an average of 3.2 yards per run and 93.4 yards on the ground per game this season. In total, they have allowed 1,027 rushing yards through 11 games. Concerning passing yards, the Fighting Illini are conceding 1,818 yards which has them sitting in 8th in college football. They are conceding 165.3 yards per game through the air as well as giving up a completion percentage of 49.0%. During the season, they are allowing 258.6 yards per contest ranking them 2nd in D-1. They have surrendered 8 touchdowns via the pass as well as 6 touchdowns running the ball.

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The Wildcats come into this game with a record of 1-10 for this year. The last time they took the field, the Wildcats took a loss by a score of 17-9 against the Purdue Boilermakers. Cole Freeman ended the contest with 78 yds on 9/20 passing while his quarterback rate was 67.8. He threw 1 pick and his average yards per attempt was 3.9. Evan Hull ran the football 22 times for 105 yards, walking away from the game with 4.8 yds per attempt for Northwestern. The Wildcats finished with a total of 240 yards while they ran 65 plays (3.7 yards per play). Northwestern rushed the ball for 3.6 yards per attempt, finishing with 162 yds on 45 attempts. Northwestern surrendered 42 attempts on the ground for 140 yds (3.3 yds per rush). The Wildcats passing defense allowed a completion rate of 64.0%, surrendering 159 yards on 16 for 25 through the air.

In relation to their scoring prowess, the Wildcats rank 128th in the country maintaining an average of 14.7 points per game. During this campaign thus far, the Wildcats have thrown for a total of 2,357 passing yards in addition to an average of 214.3 passing yards per outing, which ranks 92nd in college football. The Northwestern Wildcats maintain an average of 336.7 yards per outing, which ranks them 105th in Division 1. The Northwestern offense has racked up 446 penalty yds on 50 violations, which is good for 118th in the nation in terms of helping out the other team.

Northwestern has allowed a total of 2,140 yards via the ground game (194.5 yards/game) in addition to 21 touchdowns by way of the ground game so far this year. They have yielded 17 touchdowns from the passing game in addition to 187.7 yards per contest, ranking them 17th in D-1. The Wildcats defense has been on the field for 755 plays, which is good for 62nd in Division 1. The Wildcats are allowing 27.2 points per game, which has them 76th in the nation. Over the course of the season, they have given up 299 points in total.

Who will win tonight's Fighting Illini/Wildcats college football game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Fighting Illini -10.5

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