Vegas Big Ten Predictions Week 9: Every Game Matters
Saturday Blitz Vegas Big Ten Predictions Week 9
Minnesota Golden Gophers at Illinois Fighting Illini
Line: Minnesota by 6.5
Despite being 6-1 and in complete control of their own destiny to win the Big Ten title, the oddsmakers right now still don’t trust the Minnesota Golden Gophers against the team we’ve proclaimed to be the worst in the conference, only making them a touchdown favorite on the road. This is mainly due to Jerry Kill’s squad barely scraping by recently. But the key Saturday is what it’s always been. Run. Run it a lot. Heck, there might not be a need to pass the entire game. The Golden Gophers are going up against one of the worst defenses in college football that relies only on throwing a lot to win. So with a dominant run team like Minnesota, it’s the perfect formula to move the ball and stay on the field while scoring a lot in the process. David Cobb should be used as much as possible.
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Betsided
Illinois, which was supposed to rely on Wes Lunt to be the superstar for this team at quarterback, is now having issues. Tim Beckman is going to a two-quarterback set on Saturday with Reilly O’Toole and Aaron Bailey rotating. This team has to get something going in the passing game because that’s all it has. In short, one of those guys has to step up and get things going, or this will be another blowout loss for Illinois. And given how bad the defense is, they might as well sell out to stop the run. If they try to play balanced, they can’t stop anybody, so they should just solely focus on taking away the one thing Minnesota wants to stick to to get a win.
Prediction
This game won’t be nearly as close as the line has indicated. Minnesota is going to run it down Illinois’s throat given how bad that defense is, and the Fighting Illini will not be able to get any offense going with its quarterback issues. As a result, the Golden Gophers will move to 7-1. They win it easily on the road.
Minnesota: 38 Illinois: 17