#9 Illinois vs #19 Indiana Predictions

[SBR Andy]

The Saturday night NBC games features a Big 10 battle of not your typical powerhouse programs. The #9 fighting Illini take on the #19 Hoosiers at 7:30 PM ET.

Which team is a contender and which is a pretender?

Post your Illinois vs Indiana prediction below.

[SBR Andy]

SBR's Rob Paul takes a look at Saturday's game in his early Illinois vs Indiana prediction:

Indiana -4 (-110)

"This should probably be the location of ESPN's College GameDay on Saturday, instead of going to Miami to watch the Hurricanes pulverize a down-on-their-luck Florida team. This matchup between Big Ten rivals will almost certainly have an impact on the College Football Playoff odds, with both teams ranked in the top 20.

However, while Bret Bielema's Illini were projected in the preseason to be this year's Indiana as a surprise CFP team, the Hoosiers have shown no reason that they won't be playing meaningful football late into the season again. And if you don't believe me, just Google Coach Cig.

The second-year coach retained a ton of key players from last year's team - Elijah Sarratt, Omar Cooper Jr., Mikail Kamara, Aiden Fisher, D'Angelo Ponds - while utilzing the transfer portal once again to reload.

The most important addition has been QB Fernando Mendoza, a Heisman Trophy odds riser, who has the Hoosiers ranked No. 13 in SP+. Mendoza can be the difference against an Illinois team that's ranked outside the top 35 in EPA per pass on defense."