Saturday college football and we will see the Illinois Fighting Illini take on the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. The game has a start time of 4:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on FOX. Current Vegas odds have the Huskies listed as 13 point favorites, while the total is set at 65.
Analysis: The Illinois Fighting Illini come in at 2-0 on the year, with their two wins coming vs Youngstown state in their opener and then Western Kentucky last week. In the win vs the Hilltoppers, Illinois piled up 522 yards of offense, including 456 yards through the air and they were outstanding on third down, converting 9 of their 13 chances, plus held a 10 minute TOP edge. The down side of that game was the fact that they rushed for just 66 yards, had 9 penalties and turned the ball over 3 times. Wes Lunt Completed 70% of his passes for 456 yards and 3 TDs in the game and has now thrown for 715 yards and 7 TDs to just 1 INT in his first 2 games as a member of the Illini. Overall Illinois is 8th in the nation in passing (370.5 ypg) and 55th in scoring (35 ppg), while on defense they are 73rd in yards allowed (390 ypg) and 72nd in points allowed (25.5 ppg).
The Washington Huskies have not had the start they were looking for. Sure they are 2-0, but played horrible in their win over Hawaii in their opener and then struggled to beat FCS opponent Eastern Washington last week. In the win over Eastern Washington, the Huskies used their powerful offensive line to open some big hole on their way to rushing for 356 yards and at 6.2 yards per pop. That was something they were not able to do vs Hawaii. Leading the Way on the ground was Levon Coleman, who had 118 yards rushing and 1 TD in the game. QB Cyler Miles missed the opener (suspension), but did have a solid game in his return, throwing for 180 yards and a TD, while also rushing for 58 yards and 3 more scores. The defense really struggled for the Huskies in the game, allowing 573 yards, including 475 through the air. Washington comes in ranked 68th in total offense (436.5 ypg) and 46th in scoring (38 ppg), while on defense they are 114th in total defense (498.5 ypg) and 102nd in scoring defense (34 ppg).
Pick: I will be going with the Huskies in this one. Washington struggled in the first 2 games, but I expect them to have their best showing year. Illinois is still a bad team in the Big 10 and they just don't have the DL to matchup with the Huskies powerful OL. The Huskies need a huge win and so does Petersen to take some of the pressure off and I feel they will get the win here by at least 17.
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College Football Free Picks: Northern Illinois vs UNLV Betting
What college football bettors need to know about betting Northern Illinois Huskies vs UNLV Rebels on Saturday (9/13/14) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Steve Fezzik with added insight from Scott Spreitzer.