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Illinois v. Ohio State Football Picks & Predictions

Written by Jack Jones

Even though the No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes are 8-2, they are still in contention for a BCS Bowl bid if they can close their season out strong and get a little help from some other schools. First though they have to head into Champaign and post a victory against Ron Zook’s Illinois Illini. Ohio State is a 9.5-point favorite to do so with the total set at 47.5.

The Buckeyes two losses have came against some of the best teams in the nation, first against USC early in the year and then two weeks ago in a slugfest against the Penn State Nittany Lions. Now, after Penn State’s loss to Iowa last week Ohio State is tied for the lead in the Big Ten, but is going to need some help to win the conference title due to the head to head loss with the Nittany Lions.

Illinois is having a disappointing season and still needs to pick up another win to become eligible for a bowl game. Last week’s 23-17 loss to Western Michigan really hurt as now the team has to either win at home against Ohio State or win on the road against Northwestern a week from Saturday to become post-season eligible. Last year though the Illini were able to pull the 28-21 upset of the Buckeyes in Columbus, so Ron Zook is hoping his players can pull together a little more magic this time around.

The Buckeye offense is putting up 26.6 points per game this year on 330.6 total yards per game. True freshman Terrelle Pryor has done a fine job of leading this team at the quarterback position, completing 65.1% of his passes for 1,076 yards, nine touchdowns, and only three picks. Pryor has also hurt opponents with his legs, rushing for 450 yards and five touchdowns as well. Chris “Beanie” Wells was hurt for the first part of the season, but he still has ran for 814 yards and six touchdowns in seven games.

The Buckeye defense has been just as good as expected, holding opponents to 13 points per game and 269.8 total yards per game. The defense has only given up 13 touchdowns in 10 games with the rush defense giving up just 3.5 yards per attempt and the pass defense giving up just 8.9 yards per completion. Ohio State isn’t just stopping opponents, but they are taking the ball away too with 24 turnovers on the year. You can bet Ohio State -9.5 at BetUS and get up to 145% in signup bonuses!

The Buckeye defense will certainly be put to the test this week when they face an explosive Illinois offense that is putting up 31.4 points per game on 447.6 total yards per game. The Illini have scored 36 touchdowns on offense this year and have a balanced attack of running and passing. Quarterback Juice Williams is a duel threat who has thrown for 2,769 yards and 20 touchdowns, but has been picked off 14 times. His favorite target has been Arrelious Benn who has 60 catches for 947 yards and three touchdowns. Williams leads the team in rushing with 577 yards and five scores. Jason Ford is the short-yardage running back who has seven touchdowns and gets the tough yards.

The Illinios defense hasn’t been near as tough, giving up 351.1 total yards per game on their way to 26.2 points per game given up. Against the run they haven’t been too bad, and the pass rush has been solid in racking up 32 sacks. The secondary though has been torched for 15 touchdowns and over 12 yards per completion while the Illini have only intercepted five passes. You can bet on Illinois at +9.5 and get a 100% bonus on your first winning wager at Sportsbook.com.

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