Illinois Fighting Illini (4-6) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (8-2)
November 20, 2021 2:00 pm EDT
The Line: Iowa Hawkeyes -12 ; Over/Under: 38.5
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The Iowa Hawkeyes meet the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday in week 12 Big Ten college football action from Kinnick Stadium. Illinois is coming off an open week. The Illini managed a win over Minnesota in their last appearance. As for the Hawkeyes, they played Minnesota this past Saturday. In that one Iowa powered out a five-point win. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Illinois struggled in their first five games this year, beating Nebraska before falling to UTSA, Virginia, Maryland and Purdue. The Illini have gone 3-2 since then, losing to Wisconsin and Rutgers while otherwise beating Charlotte, Penn State and Minnesota.
In the 14-6 win over Minnesota back on November 6, the Illini scored all their points in the first half and held the Gophers off the scoreboard until the fourth quarter. QB Brandon Peters put up 80 yards and a TD, while Chase Brown had 147 yards on 32 carries.
Over on the Hawkeyes’ side, they plowed through their first six games this year, beating Indiana, Iowa State, Kent State, Colorado State, Maryland and Penn State. After losses to Purdue and Wisconsin the Hawkeyes got back on pace with a win over Northwestern.
In the Minnesota game last weekend, Iowa had a 13-10 deficit going into halftime but ultimately ended up posting a 27-22 win. QB Alex Padilla finished on 206 yards and two scores, while Charlie Jones caught two balls for 106 yards and a touchdown.
Illinois is 4-0-1 ATS versus a team with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in their last nine in November. The Illini are 1-3-1 ATS in their last five after an ATS win.
Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes are 5-2 ATS in their last seven at home and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 on turf. Iowa is 11-5-1 ATS in their last 17 overall.
PICK: I’m sticking with Iowa. The Hawkeyes didn’t have a great offensive game, but the team pulled off big plays when they needed to against Minnesota. Iowa had just 12 first downs and held the ball for 19:40, so the defense definitely stepped up to help in the win.
As for Illinois, they’ve certainly played better over the last five outings or so. The Penn State win on October 23 was huge, and the Illini did a great job defensively versus Minnesota. In that one Illinois held the Gophers to just 3-of-13 on third down tries and came up with two picks. Illinois should come out of the gate strong here after the week off, but I don’t think they’ll keep up down the stretch.
