Missouri Tigers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini – We Have the Winning Pick

Missouri Tigers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini

Saturday, September 5—Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, MO — 3:40pm EST

NCAA Betting Line: Illinois -6 1/2 (60 1/2)

The Illinois Fighting Illini and Missouri Tigers have made a mini-rivalry out of their season-opening game series, but the Tigers’ domination has taken away a bit of the luster so far.

Most of the time, meetings between these two seem to end in shootouts with Illinois making a late mistake to seal the win for Missouri.

This year, the shoe is on the other foot in terms of the ncaaf betting odds, however, as the Tigers are underdogs going into Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. matchup with the Illinois listed as 6 1/2-point favorites in the Sportsbook. The over/under for what should be a high-scoring game is 60 ½ points as both teams bring explosive spread offenses to the table.

Missouri lost QB Chase Daniel from a year ago and it could be a tough go early on in the season for Blaine Gabbert in some ways. Gabbert also is extremely talented as a former 4 or 5 star prospect depending on who you ask and should be able to make some plays against the Illini.

The Tigers also return dynamite runner Derrick Washington from last year and some top receiving targets.

On paper, however, the Illini have more talent and motivation going into this one. Juice Williams hasn’t been as consistent as coach Ron Zook would like but he is a powerful runner and a very good passer when he makes the right reads. Arrelious Benn is the type NFL WR prospect in the country and could spell big trouble for the Tigers and Florida transfer Jarred Fayson adds a much-needed second big-time target for Zook and Williams.

In the end, however, the spread will be too much for the Illini to cover in what should be a close game. Gary Pinkel of Missouri has a decided strategic advantage in coaching against Ron Zook who doesn’t seem to make the right adjustments in close games. That should be enough to allow the younger Tigers to hang around in this one before finally falling by 4 points or so.

NCAAF Betting pick: Missouri (+6 ½) and the over (60 ½)