The Illinois Fighting Illini will get their turn in attempting to become the first team to beat the Ohio State Buckeyes this season. The Fighting Illini are on a nice two-game winning streak, but can they extend that run? Or will the Buckeyes turn them away and continue its own unbeaten stretch? Check out our preview of this game below.
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Betting Preview for the Ohio State Buckeyes vs Illinois Fighting Illini NCAA Week 13 College Football Game on November 28, 2020
Where: Memorial Stadium , Champaign, IL
When: Saturday, November 28, 2020, 12:00 PM ET
Line: Ohio State Buckeyes (-28) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (+28) – view all 2020 NCAAF lines
TV Broadcast: FS1
Betting on the Ohio State Buckeyes (-28)
Record: 4-0 Overall / 4-0 Conference
Ohio State remains undefeated this season, as the Buckeyes took care of business last Saturday with a 42-35 win at home over the tough Indiana Hoosiers. The Buckeyes won in that game despite them clearly not at their best. Quarterback Justin Fields went 18 of 30 for 300 passing yards and two touchdowns while getting intercepted three times. The good thing for Ohio State was that its ground game took over and generated 307 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 50 carries. Illinois might have its hopes up of containing Fields after a let-down performance by the quarterback, but the Fighting Illini will also have to deal with Ohio State’s rushing game, which they failed to do last week against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Cornhuskers rushed 41 times for 215 yards and two touchdowns. On the season, Illinois is allowing 194.6 rushing yards per game. As for Ohio State, Master Teague and company are averaging 233.2 rushing yards per contest — 14th in the nation.
Ohio State is 5-1 against the spread in its last six road games.
Betting on the Illinois Fighting Illini (+28)
Record: 2-3 Overall / 2-3 Conference
Speaking of rushing games, the Fighting Illini know a thing or two about having an effective ground attack. In last Saturday’s 41-23 win on the road over the Cornhuskers, Illinois rushed for 285 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries. Michael Epstein led Illinois with 113 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 13 rushing attempts. While it’s likely the Fighting Illini are not going to have as much success on the ground against Ohio State as they did against the Cornhuskers, their heavy reliance on rushing can put enough stress on the Buckeyes’ defense and tire it out. The Fighting Illini are 11th in the nation with a 63.05 rushing play percentage. Defensively, Illinois’ ability to get stops and turnovers will be tested here. After seeing the Buckeyes turn the ball over three times (all Justin Fields interceptions) last Saturday, the Fighting Illini’s stop unit will be gnashing their teeth in anticipation of forcing Ohio State errors. Against Nebraska, Illinois had three defensive interceptions to improve its season average to 2.6 takeaways per game — the fifth-best in the nation.
Illinois is 5-2 against the spread in its last seven home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Ohio State wins, 38-20.
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