Kicking off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday during the Week 9 College Football slate, the Washington Huskies will host the Illinois Fighting Illini. Both of these Big Ten opponents are off to a 5-2 start to the season and playing in the upper echelon of college football programs.
This will be the 12th matchup between these two programs in their history, but the first time facing off since 2014. Washington has won seven of these games, with the last Illinois victory taking place back in 1963.
Washington enters as 3.5-point favorites and holds -166 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. Illinois is +140, with the game total set at 54.5
This article provides a preview of both teams and offers a pick for the Week 9 matchup.
Illinois vs. Washington prediction, preview
Illinois Fighting Illini
The Fighting Illini are off to a 5-2 start to season with their pair of losses respectably coming at the hands of Indiana and Ohio State. They defeated Western Illinois, Duke, Western Michigan, USC and Purdue so far this season. Illinois is 2-2 in conference play, 2-1 when playing on the road, and 5-2 against the spread.
Luke Altmyer has impressed at the quarterback position this year. He has completed 72.4% of his passes for 1,821 yards, 13 touchdowns and one interception while adding two rushing scores. Hank Beatty is the team’s leading receiver with 39 receptions for 617 yards and two scores. Collin Dixon is not far behind with 22 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns while Justin Bowick leads the team with four touchdowns. Illinois has a strong rushing attack headlined by Kaden Feagin and Ca’Lil Valentine. Feagin has 338 rushing. yards and five touchdowns while Valentine has five scores and 329 rushing yards. Aidan Laughery has also added 181 yards and three rushing scores.
Illinois is averaging 34 points per game, which ranks 37th among the 136 FBS teams, and is producing an average of 383.1 yards of total offense. Defensively, it is giving up 25.4 points per game and 371 total yards per game. It has struggled to stop the run a bit, allowing 131 yards per game on the ground. The Fighting Illini have tallied 15 total sacks and 10 forced turnovers on the season.
Washington Huskies
The Huskies are also off to a 5-2 start to the season with their pair of losses coming the hands of Michigan and Ohio State. They have produced victories over Colorado State, UC Davis, Washington State, Maryland and Rutgers. Washington is 2-2 in conference play, 3-1 when playing at home, and 4-3 against the spread.
Demond Williams Jr. headlines the quarterback production and has completed 72.1% of his pass attempts for 1,837 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions while adding 363 rushing yards and four scores on the ground. Denzel Boston is the team’s leading receiver with 34 receptions for 515 yards and six touchdowns. Dezmen Roebuck is not far behind with 358 yards and two scores of his own. Jonah Coleman has had an excellent start to the season at the running back position. The Arizona transfer has tallied 568 yards on the ground and an FBS-leading 12 touchdowns while adding 284 yards through the air and an additional score. Adam Mohammed adds 182 rushing yards and two touchdowns of his own.
Washington is averaging 34.6 points per game, which ranks 35th among 136 FBS programs, and 437.1 total yards of offense. Defensively, it is holding opponents to 20.3 points per game and 332.6 total yards of offense. It is giving up just 97.7 yards on the ground per game. The Huskies have tallied 13 sacks and forced eight turnovers on the season.
Illinois vs. Washington pick, best bet
These teams are off to nearly identical starts to the season and this is an important matchup with their 5-2 record and 2-2 conference records in mind. Illinois is coming off its bye week and this came at an important time after a grueling stretch in which the team got beat up. The Fighting Illini have been a bit inconsistent this season, but having the time off to prepare will be an important edge in this game.
Washington is dealing with some issues on the offensive line which should prove problematic. Its running game has been strong and will be its biggest advantage in this game, but it looked flat in its recent loss to Michigan. Demond Williams Jr. threw three interceptions and tallied 40 rushing yards. Illinois does not possess nearly the same caliber of defense as Michigan, but some of these issues appeared self-inflicted and requiring improvement from Washington internally.
With all this in mind, I am backing Illinois and expecting this game to go down to the wire. Altmyer has not been held to less than 146 passing yards all year and averaging 260.1 passing yards per game. He also has done an excellent job taking care of the ball with just one interception on the year. Count on him providing enough of a baseline of production for Illinois to have a chance for the win outright even while playing on the road.
