Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 10/15/2022 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Saturday, October 15, 2022

Location: Memorial Stadium in Champaign, IL

TV: BTN

Odds/Point Spread: Fighting Illini (+3.5)

Total/Over-Under: 39

The Illinois Fighting Illini (5-1) welcome the Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-1) at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Minnesota opens as 3.5-point favorites. The over/under is 39.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers step onto the field holding a record of 4-1 for this season. In their last game, the Golden Gophers played the Purdue Boilermakers and went home with a loss by a final score of 20-10. Tanner Morgan went 18/33 with 257 yds passing. He had a quarterback rate of 101.8 and finished the game with 3 interceptions. Bryce Williams was the leader on the ground for the Golden Gophers with 11 carries for 35 yards (3.2 yards per attempt). In all, they had 59 plays which totaled 301 yds. The Minnesota Golden Gophers ran the rock 26 different times and accounted for 44 yards, which came out to an average of 1.7 yds per carry. When it came to the battle of the line of scrimmage, the Golden Gophers gave up 160 yards on 27 attempts, which averages out to 5.9 yards per run allowed. Minnesota gave up 27 pass completions on 40 attempts for 199 yds, and a completion rate of 67.5%.

In terms of putting points on the board, the Minnesota Golden Gophers are sitting at 38.6 PPG. As a team they hold an average of 244.4 yards via the ground game which ranks them 6th in D-1. The Golden Gophers have racked up 2,473 total yards for the year. When it comes to getting in the endzone, Minnesota has amassed 7 touchdowns via the pass and 18 rushing touchdowns. Minnesota has a total of 140 1st downs as a unit, and they have committed 20 infractions for 183 yds. They have turned the ball over 6 different times.

In terms of passing yards, the Golden Gophers are conceding 703 yards which puts them in 1st in college football. They have relinquished 140.6 yards per game via the pass in addition to giving up a completion percentage of 57.6%. Overall, they are giving up 222.0 yards per game which ranks them 1st in Division 1. They have yielded 3 touchdowns via the pass as well as 2 touchdowns running the ball. They are giving up 3.5 yards per tote and 81.4 yards on the ground per contest this year. For the season, they have conceded 407 running yards through 5 games. The Golden Gophers rank 2nd in college football when it comes to the opposition scoring, allowing 8.8 points per game.

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The Fighting Illini come into this game with a record of 5-1 this year. For their last game, the Fighting Illini got the victory with a final of 9-6 when they faced the Iowa Hawkeyes. Artur Sitkowski walked away from the contest with 74 yds on 13/19 passing while his QB rate was 90.6. He threw 1 interception and his Y/A was 3.9. Chase Brown carried the ball 31 times for 146 yds, ending the game with 4.7 yards per carry for Illinois. The Fighting Illini finished the game with 318 yds on 75 plays (4.2 yards per play). Illinois rushed the football for 4.5 yds per attempt, totaling 202 yards on 45 carries. Illinois gave up 30 attempts on the ground for 52 yds (1.7 yards per rush). The Fighting Illini secondary gave up a completion percentage of 50.0%, surrendering 169 yds on 18 out of 36 passing.

The Illinois Fighting Illini maintain an average of 406.7 yards/outing, which has them ranked 66th in college football. The Illinois offense has racked up 407 yds of penalties on 43 infractions, which is good for 28th in the country in terms of hurting your team. Over the course of the season thus far, the Fighting Illini have compiled 1,266 yards through the air along with an average of 211.0 passing yards per contest, which ranks 101st in D-1. When it comes to their scoring prowess, the Fighting Illini rank 89th in the country by scoring 26.0 points per contest.

Illinois has allowed a total of 403 rushing yards (67.2 yards/game) and 1 touchdown on the ground this season. They have allowed the opposition 2 touchdowns through the air as well as 160.7 yards/game, which has them in 9th in college football. The Fighting Illini defense has been on the field for 367 plays, which has them ranked 36th in the country. The Fighting Illini are conceding 8.0 PPG, which has them sitting 1st in college football. In total, they have surrendered 48 points in total.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Fighting Illini +3.5

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