The Virginia Cavaliers meet the Illinois Fighting Illini in week 2 college football action from Scott Stadium on Saturday.
The Illinois Fighting Illini will look to bounce back from a 37-30 loss to UTSA in their last game to fall to 1-1 on the year. Artur Sitkowski threw for 266 yards and 3 scores on 22 of 42 passing while Reggie Love III had a team-high 39 rushing yards on 11 carries and Sitkowski called his own number 6 times for 33 rushing yards. Isaiah Williams added 8 receptions for 101 yards to lead Illinois in that regard while Daniel Barker had 5 grabs for 74 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Deuce Spann contributed a 31-yard TD grab as well in the loss. Defensively, Tarique Barnes led the Illini with 11 total tackles while Devon Witherspoon had 9 tackles with 7 solo tackles and a pair of TFLs and Keith Randolph Jr. had Illinois’ lone sack in the losing effort.
The Virginia Cavaliers come into this one looking to build on their season-opening 43-0 win over William & Mary last time out. Brennan Armstrong threw for 339 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also logging a pair of rushing scores as well. Iraken Armstead led the Cavaliers with 5 carries for 54 yards while Wayne Taulapapa and Keytaon Thompson each had 40+ rushing yards. Dontayvion Wicks led Virginia’s receiving group with 4 grabs for 94 yards while Thompson had a team-high 5 catches for 66 yards. Dernick Sterling’s lone grab went for a 65-yard touchdown and Ra’Shaun Henry had a pair of catches with a TD as well. Defensively, Nick Jackson had a team-high 12 total tackles while Joey Blount had a team-high 5 solo tackles and Mandy Alonso recorded a sack in the victory.
Illinois is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games while the under is 7-2 in their last 9 Saturday road games. Virginia is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 week 2 matchups while the over is 13-4 in their last 17 games overall.
This is a tough call as that Illinois game screamed letdown the entire way and Virginia got off to a nice start, but Illinois is going to be their toughest test. I’m going to lean towards Illinois as I think this may end up being a case of too many points, but there are far better options on Saturday’s card.