College Football Lines – Michigan at Illinois
Written October 29, 2009 by Hector Garza
It’s time for another Big 10 matchup, and looking at records alone Michigan (5-3) is a shoe in for another win against struggling Illinois (1-6). The game will be played at Memorial Stadium in Champaign-Urbana at 3:30 p.m. ET. The college football odds makers have the Wolverines favored by 7, but Ron Zook and the fighting Illini will be looking to take advantage of a team that’s lost 3 of their last 4 games. The total points for the contest is set at 53 ½.
The Wolverines shot out the gates this year to a 4-0 record, and Rich Rodriguez and crew appeared to have last season’s problems behind them. Their most notable win came against rival Notre Dame in a 34-38 barn burner at the big house. Since then, however, they’ve lost 3 Big 10 games to Michigan State, Iowa and Penn State for a 1-3 conference record. The offense has put up a respectable 404.5 ypg, with over 219 of those coming on the ground. QB Tate Forcier has done well throwing for 145.9 ypg and 9 td’s. However, turnovers have been key, as Forcier has thrown 5 ints, backup QB Denard Robinson has throw 4 more and the unit has combined for a total of 18 turnovers.
Defensively Michigan is giving up 367.4 ypg on the season, with 232.5 of those coming through the air. A major contributor for the shaky pass defense has been from the lack of pressure against opposing QB’s, as the team has tallied only 12 sacks through 8 games. The unit has also struggled forcing turnovers at 11, which gives the team a -7 in the take away department. A standout has been DE Brandon Graham, who’s notched 15.5 TFL’s and 5.5 sacks.
When it rains, it pours. The Fighting Illini have won one game and are 0-5 in conference play this year, causing speculation on whether Ron Zook will be around for 2010. The offense is averaging just over 17.5 ppg and has failed to score in 5 red zone opportunities. QB Juice Williams has struggled on the season, completing 55.5% of his throws for 4 td’s and 5 ints. In his defense, the offensive line has given up 22 sacks in 7 contests. The highlight has been a strong rushing game, which has churned out 181.4 ypg led by sophomore RB Mikel Leshoure, who’s averaged 6.5 ypc. Check out our recommended books for all of your NCAA football betting needs!
While the ground game has been successful on offense, perhaps it has beat up on the defense too much in practice, because Illinois is giving up a whopping 185.3 rushing ypg. They haven’t been any better against the pass, as they’ve allowed 230.6 ypg in the air. The defense has a total of 7 sacks and 9 takeaways to cap off the crummy numbers. It’s tough to win when you’re giving up over 27 ppg.
Right now Bodog is handing out a 10% BONUS for all your college football needs. The Wolverines have shown their susceptible to the run, giving up 134.9 ypg, and the only way for the Fighting Illini to keep the game close is to pound the ball successfully. On the flip side, Michigan has the better ground game and shouldn’t have a problem putting up points. Unless they shoot themselves in the foot with turnovers, Rich and the crew should be able to walk away with a victory on the road. This one was free, but for more predictions on college football look no further than BetFirms.
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