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The Iowa Hawkeyes are 7-0 against the Illinois Fighting Illini since October of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. Iowa and Illinois will face off in a Big Ten battle at 7:30 p.m. ET at Memorial Stadium. These two teams have allowed few points on average (the Hawkeyes ten, the Fighting Illini 8.4), so any points scored will be well earned.
Iowa came up short against the Michigan Wolverines last week, falling 27-14. Iowa was down 20 to nothing at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. No one had a standout game offensively for Iowa, but they got scores from TE Luke Lachey and RB Kaleb Johnson.
Meanwhile, Illinois made easy work of the Wisconsin Badgers last week and carried off a 34-10 win. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Fighting Illini had established a 31-10 advantage. RB Chase Brown and QB Tommy DeVito were among the main playmakers for Illinois as the former rushed for one TD and 129 yards on 25 carries and the latter accumulated 167 passing yards in addition to punching in three rushing touchdowns.
Iowa is expected to lose this next one by 3.5. Those burned by picking them against the spread last week might want to keep in mind that the team has not yet dropped back-to-back games against the spread this season.
A couple defensive numbers to keep in mind before kickoff: The Hawkeyes rank third in the nation when it comes to touchdowns allowed, with only five on the season. But the Fighting Illini are even better: they come into the contest boasting the fewest touchdowns allowed in the nation at three. We'll see if that edge gives Illinois a route to victory.
