The #20 Illinois Fighting Illini travel across the country to take on the #1 Oregon Ducks in a Big Ten clash between two top 25-ranked programs.
Oregon is ranked No. 1 after Texas lost to Georgia on Saturday and the Ducks rolled the Purdue Boilermakers 35-0 a week after beating the Ohio State Buckeyes (32-31). The Ducks have a target on their back and are the favorites to win the Big Ten with contents against Michigan, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Washington remaining. This is Oregon’s final top-25-ranked matchup until the Big Ten Championship as of now.
Illinois is coming off back-to-back home wins in a thriller over Purdue in OT (50-49) and a dominant 21-7 victory over Michigan. The Fighting Illini’s only loss came on the road at Penn State (21-7). Illinois went on the road at Nebraska and won 31-24 in OT, so this is only the third road game of the year for Illinois, not exactly road warriors.
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Game Details and How to watch Illinois @ Oregon
- Date: Saturday, October 26, 2024
- Time: 3:30 PM EST
- Site: Autzen Stadium
- City: Eugene, Oregon
- TV/Streaming: CBS / Paramount+
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Game odds for Illinois @ Oregon
The latest odds as of Wednesday afternoon:
o Moneyline: Oregon -1600, Illinois +900
o Spread: Oregon -21.5 (-110)
o Total: 54.5 points
*odds courtesy of BetMGM
The total hasn’t budged a point since opening, while the only movement on the spread came from Illinois +22.5 to +21.5. If this gets inside the +21 number, Oregon will receive money, but expect Illinois to take a large amount of the handle if this remains +21 or larger.
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NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) has the following best bets for Saturday’s matchup between Illinois and Oregon:
“The only cover at home for Oregon this season came against Ohio State as an underdog, but as a favorite, this team is 0-3 ATS versus Idaho, Boise State, and Michigan State. Granted, in the first two weeks Oregon was a different football team, but two straight covers against Ohio State and Purdue will have a majority of people backing the Ducks.
I don’t see Illinois upsetting Oregon, but the Illini can keep it respectable as they do not turn the ball over and played Penn State tough on the road (21-7 loss). I will take Illinois +21.5 down to +21.”
National Championship Odds via BetMGM
Highest Ticket%
· Ohio State 14.9%
· Texas 12.3%
· Georgia 11.2%
Highest Handle%
· Ohio State 19.2%
· Georgia 17.2%
· Texas 11.9%
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Quarterback matchup for Illinois @ Oregon
- Illinois: Luke Altmeyer has one of the best TD-to-INT ratios in the country at 15-to-1, plus 1,506 passing yards and a 65.9% completion percentage. The Ole Miss transfer has shocked everybody after 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last year as a first-year starter with Illinois.
- Oregon: Dillon Gabriel transferred from Oklahoma and is one of the Heisman front-runners after beating Ohio State at home. Gabriel has two games of 300-plus passing yards this season and 15 touchdown passes to four interceptions. Gabriel looks poised for a top-three Heisman finish if the Ducks finish the regular season undefeated.
Fighting Illini and Ducks player news & recent stats
- Illinois is 5-2 ATS on the season and 5-2 to the Under.
- Illinois has covered three of the past four games.
- Illinois is 3-1 ATS as an underdog and 3-1 on the ML.
- Oregon is 3-4 ATS and 4-3 to the Under this season.
- Oregon is 1-3 ATS at home and 2-2 on the total this year.
- Dillon Gabriel has thrown for at least 275 yards in five of seven games.
- Jordan James leads Oregon in rushing yards (717) and touchdowns (8).
- Tez Johnson has 30 more receptions (57) than the next Oregon Duck and more than double the touchdowns (7 to 3).
- Luke Altmeyer has thrown for at least 200 yards in four out of seven games for Illinois.
- Illinois has had three different leading rushers this season (Feagin, McCray, Laughery) and two leading receivers (Bryant, Franklin) over seven contests.
Expert picks & predictions for Illinois @ Oregon
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the college football calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, betting trends, and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Saturday’s game between Illinois and Oregon:
· Moneyline: NBC Sports is leaning towards a play on Oregon on the Moneyline
· Spread: NBC Sports is recommending a play on Oregon against the Spread
· Total: NBC Sports is staying away from a play on the Total of 54.5
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
- Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
- Eric Froton (@CFFroton)