Nebraska vs. Illinois betting preview: Odds picks, start time for Friday college football Week 10 — SkimNews
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- DraftKings Sportsbook lists Nebraska as a 4.5-point road favorite with an Over/Under of 50.5 for Friday's 8 p.m. ET kickoff in the Big Ten matchup.
- Nebraska lost three straight after a 3-0 start — 20-17 to Indiana in a game it controlled into the fourth quarter, 17-14 to Oregon, and 17-10 to Washington after a bye, surrendering two touchdowns in under 30 seconds with under two minutes left against Washington.
- Anthony Colandrea is described as an elite dual-threat quarterback, but his production hasn't translated into enough points for Nebraska's offense in recent weeks even as the defense has been excellent.
- Illinois sits at 5-3 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play on a three-game winning streak over Michigan State, Oregon and Maryland — the first in overtime, the last a 20-17 win over a Maryland team playing under an interim head coach.
- SportsLine entered Week 10 at 80-77 on its top-rated college football picks and simulates every FBS game 10,000 times, backing Over 50.5 in 60% of this game's simulations with a 53-point projection.
- Illinois ranks 65th in scoring offense and 66th in scoring defense among 138 FBS teams, with Nebraska at 45th and 14th; against the spread, Nebraska is 6-2 and Illinois 4-4, and the Over records stand at Nebraska 4-4 and Illinois 5-3.
- CBS Sports ran a matching Nebraska vs. Illinois Week 10 prediction, odds and start-time preview built on a "proven model," and applied the same Friday model-picks format to Virginia Tech vs. SMU.
Why it matters: Nebraska's three straight losses — including surrendering two touchdowns in under 30 seconds against Washington — contrast sharply with the 4.5-point road-favorite line DraftKings posted. Bettors leaning on SportsLine's Over 50.5 are betting against both clubs' recent Over records (Nebraska 4-4, Illinois 5-3), even as the model's 10,000 simulations produced the Over 60% of the time with a 53-point projection.
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