Northwestern Wildcats vs. Illinois Fighting Illini Odds Preview

The Northwestern Wildcats and the Illinois Fighting Illini will meet on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in a game televised on ESPN2.

The fightin’ Zooks are 4-0 for the first time since 1951 but last week’s 3-point win over Western Michigan as 14-point home chalk reminds us that laying ample points with this bunch can be dangerous to one’s pocketbook.

This fifth straight homer also won’t fi nd Octoberfest in Champaign as teams in the fi nal game of a season-opening fi vegame home stand are 0-5-1 ATS when playing off an ATS loss of 6 or more points.

Last week’s sagacious square expects Pat Fitzgerald’s felines to ‘Floor’ it while this week’s ‘BOX’ fi nds the Purple Gang ‘Fresh’ off their fi rst loss of the college football betting season.

And despite suffering its worst defeat of the season last year to Illinois (48-27 at home), Northwestern is a solid 8-3 ATS in this rivalry since 2000, including 4-1 ATS on this field.

Better yet, it looks like all-everything QB Dan Persa will be back for the Wildcats – and if he’s in, so are we. The ‘Cats’ 10-1 ATS mark as dogs off a SU loss of 6 or more points puts the fi nishing touches on this upset special.
We love the Purple Hearts.

Sportsbooks currently have the Fighting Illini listed as 8-point favorites versus the Wildcats, and the game's total is sitting at 50.

Betting trends to consider:
Northwestern is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Illinois
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Northwestern's last 7 games when playing Illinois
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Northwestern's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Northwestern's last 21 games on the road
Illinois is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Illinois is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Illinois's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Illinois's last 7 games when playing Northwestern