Illinois vs Indiana Picks & Odds

• Indiana is a 3-point favorite over Illinois in this Big Ten opener for both teams in Bloomington  on Friday
• Illinois is 1-6 ATS in its past seven Friday games, while Indiana is 6-11 in August and September games under Tom Allen
• Read below for Illinois vs Indiana odds, analysis, and betting prediction

Indiana is a 3-point favorite in its 2022 season-opener against Illinois at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana, on Friday (September 2) at 8:00 pm ET on FS1. The Fighting Illini are 1-6 ATS in their last seven Friday games.

Meantime, Indiana is only 6-11 against the spread in August and September games under head coach Tom Allen.

Let’s analyze the Illinois vs Indiana odds and find the best bet for the Friday Week 1 game.

Illinois vs Indiana Odds

Odds as of August 30th at Barstool Sportsbook.

Illinois Is Relatively Healthy

The Illini took care of business in their Week 0 matchup against the Wyoming Cowboys, winning 38-6. Running back Chase Brown finished with 19 carries and 151 yard rushing to go along with three touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving) in a spectacular 2022 debut.

CHASE BROWN 41 SECONDS IN@IlliniFootball https://t.co/G2le3JGkWx

— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 27, 2022

Meantime, Syracuse transfer Tommy DeVito excelled in his role of game manager, completing 27-of-37 passes for 192 yards and two scores in his Illinois debut. The only downside to come out of the 32-point blowout victory was a knee injury to backup running back Josh McCray. He’ll be inactive for the Indiana game and his timeline for return is uncertain.

Defensively, Bret Bielema’s squad dominated the Pokes. Illinois allowed just 30 passing yards against Wyoming, its fewest passing yards allowed since Sept. 15, 2012 when the Illini held Charleston Southern to 29 passing yards. The Illini also held the Cowboys to 1-for-12 on third downs. The effort certainly has the attention of IU’s head coach.

Allen said he's impressed with what Bielema has done at Illinois: "Physical football sticks out to me. The way they play defense. The way they run the football."

— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) August 29, 2022

Now, the question is can Illinois do something it failed to do last season: win in back-to-back weeks? After a 1-4 start in 2021, the Illini went 4-3 in the second half with conference wins against Penn State, Minnesota and Northwestern. But none of those victories came in consecutive weeks.

Indiana a Mystery

Allen and first-year coordinators Walt Bell (offense) and Chad Wilt (defense) have kept Hoosiers starting personnel and scheme quiet this offseason in hopes of remaining a mystery to the Illini. The Indiana quarterback — whether it’s Jack Tuttle or Connor Bazelak — will have former QB Donovan McCulley among his targets as the sophomore is now a wide receiver.

Tom Allen, showing remarkable self awareness: "2022 is gonna show you: What was the outlier, 2020, or 2021?"

That is more or less how his fan base sees it too. #iufb

— Zach Osterman (@ZachOsterman) August 23, 2022

Of course, the Hoosiers were one of the surprise teams of the 2020 pandemic season, going 6-2 and finishing with a No. 12 ranking in the final AP Poll after a 26-20 loss to Ole Miss in the Outback Bowl. IU came crashing down last season, finishing with a 2-10 record that included an 0-9 Big Ten mark.

A handful of possible standouts on the defensive side include Tiawan Mullen (19 tackles, three passes defended in 2021), Cam Jones (60 tackles) and Bryant Fitzgerald (41 tackles, 5.5 TFL). Meantime, Indiana was active in the transfer portal. The Hoosiers brought in 13 players — six on offense and seven on defense — with prior NCAA gridiron experience. IU has won three straight in this series, but the two programs have played each other since 2017.

Indiana enters the season with an NCAAF win total of just 4.0, half a game lower than than Illinois. Though Indiana is seen as more of a threat in the Big Ten conference title odds, sitting at +4000 compared to the Illini at +25000.

Illinois vs Indiana Prediction

Bielema lamented Allen and his staff have tape on the Illini following the Week 0 game, while not much is known about the Hoosiers. I’m not sure that really makes a difference in this spot, though.

Considering all the new faces Indiana has brought in this offseason, the season opener figures to be a little sloppy. Meantime, Illinois looked really good on both sides of the ball in its victory against Wyoming.

The Pick: Illinois +3 (-113)