Big Ten Redemption This Weekend? Week 3 Vegas Big Ten Predictions Here.
Saturday Blitz Vegas Big Ten Predictions Week 3
Illinois Fighting Illini at Washington Huskies
Line: Washington by 13
For the third straight week, Washington is playing a team that at the beginning of the year would’ve appeared to be a sure blowout win for them. But after two straight close games, one in which the defense played awful and another in which the offense played awful, this could possibly be the first loss for the Huskies. The one thing they have going for them is they can run the football really well. That’s exactly what they’ll have to do this weekend as they go up against an Illinois team that is very good on offense but still has many weaknesses on defense.
The Fighting Illini showed that they could be turning a corner after an impressive win against Western Kentucky, and that’s no easy win. To beat Washington, they’ll need to take care of the football and rely on Wes Lunt, who had 456 yards and 3 touchdowns last week, to carry them to victory. After the Huskies just gave up 475 yards and 7 touchdowns through the air to an FCS school, that might not be much of a problem. Lunt’s play alone will determine whether or not Illinois can pull of the upset on the road against a team that looks like it is having serious trouble adjusting to Chris Petersen.
Prediction
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Washington won’t fool me a third time. This team clearly looks to have issues, and Illinois is making great strides on offense and, finally, defense. That will show in a shootout Saturday as Lunt has another 400 yard game and leads Illinois to a stunning victory against Washintgon.
Illinois: 45 Washington: 41