The Illinois Fighting Illini meet the UTSA Roadrunners Saturday in week 1 college football action from Memorial Stadium Champaign. This will be UTSA’s first game of the 2021 season. The Roadrunners finished 7-5 last year and made it to a bowl game. As for the Illini, they played Nebraska last Saturday. In that one, Illinois bagged an eight-point victory. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
UTSA managed a 7-5 mark last season, going 5-2 in Conference USA play. That result left the Roadrunners in second place in the West Division, one spot behind UAB. UTSA was chosen for the First Responder Bowl, where they fell in a tough one 31-24 to Louisiana.
The Roadrunners won their first three games last season, but then lost four of their next five to UAB, BYU, Army and Florida Atlantic. UTSA was able to bounce back from that with wins over UTEP, Southern Miss and North Texas before the bowl game loss.
Over on the Illinois side, they managed to play eight games in 2020, finishing a dismal 2-6 with victories over Rutgers and Nebraska. The Illini finished in the basement of the West Division in the Big Ten Conference. Head coach Love Smith was relieved of his duties after seven games.
In the Saturday matchup versus Nebraska, Illinois had a 16-9 lead at halftime and hung on for an eventual 30-22 victory. Quarterback Artur Sitkowski went 12-of-15 for 124 yards and two scores, while Mike Epstein notched 75 yards and a TD on 16 carries to lead the rush.
The Roadrunners are 5-0 ATS in their last five on turf and 7-2 in their last nine as an underdog. UTSA is 7-2 ATS in their last nine road games and 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 in September.
Meanwhile, the Illini are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games in September and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 overall. The under is 12-4 in Illinois’ last 16 non-conference games and 5-1 in their last six versus CUSA.
PICK: I’m going to try UTSA in this one. The Roadrunners have really turned their offense around in the last few years, posting 415 yards and 28 points per game last season. The rushing game (featuring a heavy dose of Sincere McCormick) was the high point of the attack, and the offensive line gets everyone back this season.
As for Illinois, they controlled the clock nicely against Nebraska, posting 34:55 in time of possession. The Illini gave up 232 yards on the ground and 5.5 yards per play, however; the rush defense is going to need some tweaks against run-heavy teams. This should be an interesting matchup, and I think UTSA can get in there.