After winning their season opener over Murray State, the Fighting Illinois suddenly find themselves plunging towards rock bottom with four consecutive losses. The most recent loss was a 34-31 overtime setback at the hands of Purdue last week.
Perhaps the biggest reason for Illinois’ skid is its defense that has been giftwrapping opponents with clear paths on the field. In fact, Illinois is giving up 5.7 yards per play and 30.0 points per game, which are both 12th in the Big Ten.
As for the offense, Illinois head coach Lovie Smith still has no definite answer on who will start under center against Rutgers. Starter Wes Lunt is questionable to play after taking a big hit midgame against Purdue. Lunt was replaced in the game by backup Chayce Crouch, who impressed in limited time, passing for 142 yards on an efficient 10-for-14 completions.
Regardless of who starts as quarterback for Illinois, the Fighting Illini should be able to have success against Rutgers’ defense that likes to take a vacation. Rutgers’ stop unit is among the worst in the nation with 40.0 points allowed per outing.
Illinois is 4-2 ATS in its last six games in which it was the favorite.
There is an even bigger dumpster on fire right now than Illinois and that’s the Scarlett Knights, who have been through so much abuse the past two weeks.
Rutgers are on a three-game losing streak, a stretch that includes back-to-back soul-crushing defeats to Ohio State and Michigan, who combined to outscore the Scarlett Knights, 136-0. Those losses were against AP top five teams so to some extent, the failures were a bit forgivable.
A chance to rediscover the feeling of victory comes this Saturday for Rutgers, though, as the visiting Fighting Illini present a far less dangerous challenge than the Spartans or the Buckeyes. The fact that Illinois lost to Purdue at home speaks a lot about the chances of Rutgers edging the Fighting Illini at home, where the Scarlett Knights are 2-1 ATS in their last three games there.
