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Missouri v. Illinois Football Odds

Written September 4, 2009 by Rock Henderson

1* on Illinois -6.5 – The Illinois Fighting Illini open the 2009 college football season with revenge on their mind as they take on the Missouri Tigers for the third straight year. The Tigers have taken the previous two meetings in close battles that saw both teams score at will. Can the Illini finally slow the the spread offense of Mizzou and start the season with a win in the Border War? If you are going to do any football betting on this game, take a look at the $500 in bonus money BetUS offers our readers. Taking a look at the college football lines, Illinois is favored by 6.5 points with the total set at 60.5.

Missouri did not live up to the hype in 2008 after surprising much of college football the year before with an 11-2 record. QB Chase Daniel threw for 4300 yards and 39 touchdowns in 08′ after his third year in the system but QB might be a weak link on the 09′ team. Sophomore Blake Gabbert will get the nod in the opening game of the year. He only attempted 13 passes last year and we are unsure what he will exactly bring to the table. Many of the weapons that Daniels had around him have moved on also. WR Jeremy Maclin is now with the Philadelphia Eagles and Mackey Award winner Chase Coffman moved onto the NFL as well. Only 9 starters return this year and many signs point to a rebuilding year for Gary Pinkel’s squad. Pinkel is optimistic that the defense might be improved this year and can keep games from turning into a shootout in the Big 12. RB Derrick Washington is back for his Junior year after running for over 1000 yards last year. Much of the running room was created on teams having to respect the aerial assault of Mizzou and it will be tough to top last years numbers. This team is full of question marks and will not challenge in the weak Big 12 North this year.

Ron Zook’s Fighting Illini have aspirations of a Big Ten title this season after a disappointing 5-7 campaign in 2008. The offense will be high powered once again in 09′ with dual threat QB Juice Williams. William’s shined last year amassing almost 4000 total yards and 27 touchdowns. His favorite target, Arellious Benn Jr, provides a big target on the outside that teams in college football cannot match up with. RB Jason Ford saw considerable action as a true Freshman and was used mainly inside the redzone which would explain his 8 touchdowns in 08′. The degree of success for the Illini will fall heavily on how the defense performs this season. Zook’s 5^th year with the team could possibly be his best chance to take home a Big Ten title even though the ocnference in extremley top heavy.

The Rock says that the inexperience of Mizzou will show up in this game and theIllini will have its way on the offensive side of the ball. The Tigers don’t have the speed on defense to be able to keep up with the skilled players of Illinois. Most of the trends lean with taking the points, but those numbers are based on a completely different Tiget team. With his college footbal picks this weekend, the Rock says to lay the 6.5 on the Illini and cash in.