Iowa vs Illinois Prediction, Odds & Betting Trends for College Football Game on FanDuel Sportsbook

Iowa vs Illinois Week 6 Game Info

2022 NCAA College Football Game
Iowa Hawkeyes (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022
Time: 7:30p.m. ET
Venue: Memorial Stadium - Champaign, IL
Coverage: Big Ten Network

Week 6 of the 2022 NCAA college football season includes a Big Ten battle between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Illinois Fighting Illini. Picked to finish last in the Big Ten West division by many pundits, Illinois is now 4-1 including 1-1 in the Big Ten after last week's big road win at Wisconsin, 34-10.

Meanwhile, Iowa is also 1-1 in conference play with a 27-10 road win at Rutgers followed by last week's home loss to Michigan, 27-14.

Iowa vs Illinois Odds & Spread

All NCAAF betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: IOWA: (+138) | ILL: (-166)
Spread: IOWA: +3.5 (-115) | ILL: -3.5 (-105)
Total: 36.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Illinois is a -3.5 point favorite on the spread, and -166 on the moneyline. The takeback on the moneyline for Iowa to win is +146. The total has dipped even lower to 36.5 - the lowest on the Week 6 college football card, and about 20 points below an average college football total.

Iowa vs Illinois Prediction & Pick

A rare role for Illinois as favorite in this series. The Hawkeyes have been a double-digit favorite in each of the last five meetings. Iowa has also won 8-straight games over Illinois.

Illinois and Iowa have also allowed the fewest points in the Big Ten at 42 and 50 respectively. The Iowa defense just held No. 4 Michigan to 327 yards in defeat last week - 130 yards below the Wolverines season average. The issue for Iowa is its offense, which rushed for just 35 yards last week and managed just 281 total yards. Quarterback Spencer Petras is averaging just 154 passing yards per game and has only 2 TD passes this season. Iowa has not turned the ball over in its last three games, but faces another still challenge following last week's physical game vs Michigan.

Illinois continued their revival and improvement last week. Head coach Bret Bielema led the Illini into Madison and beat his former team handily, 34-10 as a TD underdog. The defense had 5 sacks and held Wisconsin to just 2 yards rushing on 24 carries - not a misprint! That includes sack yardage, but the Illinois' defense is so much better than projected, and against four FBS opponents, the Illini are allowing just 10.5 points per game. Combined with nearly 35 minutes ball possession per game - top 10 in the nation, and this Illini team has much more fight and should shut down an inept Iowa offense that ranks last in the Big Ten in scoring (16 PPG), rushing yards (88) and passing yards (154) per game.

Final Score Prediction: Illinois: 24 | Iowa: 13

Ohio State vs Michigan State Betting Trends

- Iowa is 8-0 straight up (SU) in their last 8 games against Illinois.
- Iowa is 8-1 SU in their last 9 road games.
- The total has gone Under in 5 of Iowa's last 6 games.
- Illinois is 5-1 SU in their last 6 games.
- Illinois is 7-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last 8 games.
- Illinois is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games.

Iowa vs Illinois Best Bet

All NCAAF betting lines, odds and prop bets are available on FanDuel Sportsbook.

ESPN's Football Power Index gives the Illini a 60.1% chance to win based on the point spread. Iowa has played the tougher schedule, and has the stronger special teams and superior punting game. But Illinois has risen sharply in its power ratings and performance. The Illini also rank top 20 in yards per play margin, top 15 in points per game margin and top 10 in yards per game margin.

Illinois currently has the league's top rusher Chase Brown averaging 146 yards per game, and projections show Illinois out-rushing Iowa by a significant margin. Illini QB Tommy Devito has been more consistent with more than 1,100 passing yards, nearly 70% completions and 9 TD passes to just 2 interceptions. Combined with the dominant Illini defense with 8 INTs and Iowa forced to pass more with a weak attack, it sure looks like Illinois will snap their 8 game losing streak to Iowa in style.

Bet: Illinois -3.5 (-105)

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.