Friday Night Lights: Illinois vs. Kansas Handicap
Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated
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College Football Record: 11-10 (0.00 units) - Betting 1 Unit to Win X.
6:30pm cst: Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Kansas Jayhawks -3.5; Total 57
Rock Chalk Jayhawk is looking to go 2-0 to start the season, and so is the Fighting Illini after escaping Toledo last week. The Jayhawks will be going with the blackout tonight at home in a Friday Night showdown against a Power 5 non-conference opponent. The Kansas Jayhawks do return a good amount of their players from last season, including last year’s backup quarterback Jason Bean from Mansfield, Texas. He had a great first tune-up game, throwing for 276 yards and 2 touchdowns. He is also a threat to run, but RB Devin Neal will be doing the bulk of the running tonight. We know that Kansas will have an explosive offense like last season, but will they field a defense?
Illinois was able to put up 30 points last week against Toledo, but what scared me about the Illini is their defense. Last season, it was their strength, but they lost many players to the NFL. Toledo was getting up and down the field against Illinois using their speed. The Toledo turnovers also let Illinois get back into the football game after taking a 19-7 lead. Illinois QB Luke Altmyer can throw the ball, so I would not be surprised if Illinois put up some points on this Kansas defense.
My main takeaway from watching Illinois play is that they struggle with speed and in the passing game. I can see Kansas wearing out this defense tonight with their tempo and speed all around the field. Toledo’s offense did not do anything special, so that could be trouble for the Illinois defense tonight. I am high on Kansas QB Jason Bean and RB Devin Neal, who are a very powerful combo. This number has ranged from 3 to 4, but even if this game is a shootout, I do not have much confidence in that Illinois defense or QB Altmyer keeping up pace with Kansas’ weapons. Yes, Kansas now has weapons! I’m laying the points with the Jayhawks at home on a Friday night. Due to how I feel about both of these defenses, I do like this game to go over the total. I can see a shootout tonight with plenty of points.
Pick: Kansas -3.5 (-110) & Over 57 (-110) [via Caesars]
