The Illinois Fighting Illini will look to take a 3-0 lead when they host the 1-1 Central Michigan Chippewas. Illinois is coming off a great win against the Kansas Jayhawks, who some believe are playoff contenders. It was the Illini’s defense that brought them the win, bringing Jayhawk quarterback Jalon Daniels down four times. The star on the defensive side of the ball was Xavier Scott, who totaled 8 tackles and 2 interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Central Michigan’s junior quarterback will need to protect the ball after throwing 5 interceptions in a 52-16 loss to FIU last week. Entering this season, Labas will be in action as a starting quarterback for the first time since throwing 24 passes for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2022.

Overall, for playing time at the college level, we only have a very small sample size to know if quarterback Joe Labas can rebound and rise to the occasion against a Power 4 defense. The 34-point loss to the FIU Panthers came after Central Michigan was favored by 3.5 points on the road. Normally, I’d side with the underdog to take advantage of a disappointment after the high of such a big Illinois win over Kansas, but I just don’t know if Labas can turn his performance around and succeed. On paper, this is an extremely difficult situation against a defense that has committed 4 total turnovers against a top 25 team. Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer can tend to play conservatively, especially in games against weaker opponents, so I don’t fully trust the Illini to win this game. I believe the under is the best play for this game. Expect Central Michigan to play a more secure offense after last week and try to set up the run to avoid turnovers. I expect Illinois’ defense to shut down Central Michigan early and pull out an easy win in the second half.

Available at 49.5 at time of release. Playable from this number.

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