Western Michigan vs Illinois State 9/11/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Western Michigan Broncos meet the Illinois State Redbirds Saturday in week 2 college football action at Waldo Stadium. The Illinois State Redbirds look for another win after blasting Butler in their opener. The Western Michigan Broncos look for a win after losing their opener to Michigan.

The Illinois State Redbirds have split their last 12 games overall. Bryce Jefferson is completing 47.1 percent of his passes for 193 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Austin Nagel and Kacper Rutkiewicz have combined for 126 receiving yards and one touchdown while Tristan Bailey has one reception. The Illinois State Redbirds ground game is averaging 294 yards per contest, and Cole Mueller leads the way with 111 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Illinois State is allowing seven points and 305 yards per game. Braden Price leads the Illinois State Redbirds with seven tackles, Jacob Powell has one tackle for loss and Clayton Isbell has one interception.

The Western Michigan Broncos hope to avoid their first 0-2 start since the 2018 CFB season. Kaleb Eleby is completing 54.1 percent of his passes for 191 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. Corey Crooms and Bryce Nunnelly have combined for 110 receiving yards and one touchdown while Jaylen Hall has three receptions. The Western Michigan Broncos ground game is averaging 119 yards per contest, and Sean Tyler leads the way with 55 yards on 10 carries. Defensively, Western Michigan is allowing 47 points and 551 yards per game. A.J. Thomas leads the Western Michigan Broncos with 10 tackles, Jake Moertl has one sack and Ralph Holley has two pass deflections.

The Illinois State Redbirds looked good in their season opener and they’ve been a respectable FCS team over the years. Illinois State competed with North Dakota State last year and hung around with Northern Illinois in 2019. Illinois State also beat Colorado State on the road back in 2018. The Western Michigan Broncos aren’t exactly world beaters and they got torched defensively last week against the Wolverines. This won’t be an easy game for Western Michigan. Give me the points.