Kansas vs. Illinois: Prediction, Preview, Betting Odds
Week two of the college football season is here. Kansas plays Illinois, and Heartland College Sports has your game prediction, preview, and betting odds ahead of the matchup.
GAME INFO
Saturday, Sept. 7; 6:00 p.m. (CT); Memorial Stadium; Champaign, IL
TV: FS1
Records: No. 19 Kansas, 1-0; Illinois, 1-0.
Last Week: Kansas def. Lindenwood, 48-3; Illinois def. Eastern Illinois, 45-0.
Series History: Tied, 3-3
Last Meeting: Kansas 34, Illinois 23 (Sept. 8, 2023)
Fun Fact: Kansas has won the previous two meetings, but the Jayhawks haven’t fared well in Champaign, where they’ve lost three of their four trips.
Kansas vs. Illinois Betting Lines and Odds
Opening Line: Kansas (-5.5)
Over/Under: 55.5
KEY PLAYERS
Kansas Jayhawks
WR Luke Grimm
He looked the part of a player in for a big year against Lindenwood, as he caught six passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. Of course, this was against a program that was in Division II just a couple of years ago. Last season, he finished second on the team in receptions with 33, third on the team in receiving yards with 555, and was tied for the team lead in touchdowns with six during his junior year. If the Jayhawks are going to do great things this season, Grimm must be a part of it.
CB Mello Dotson
Dotson got his season off to a right foot against the Lions, as he picked off a pass and returned it 33 years for a touchdown. He also had five tackles. An All-Big 12 preseason selection, Dotson tied for the team lead in interceptions with four last season, returning two of them for a touchdown. He also led Kansas with 11 pass breakups and finished with 48 tackles.
Illinois Fighting Illini
QB Luke Altmyer
Altmyer had a solid outing in the opener, as he threw for 213 yards and four touchdowns. Going back to last season, he threw three or more touchdowns in consecutive games for the first time in his career. He’s also thrown at least two touchdowns in four straight games. The former Ole Miss product played his first season for the Illini in 2023 and threw for 1,883 passing yards and 13 passing touchdowns while also rushing for 282 yards in nine starts.
DB Miles Scott
Scott forced a fumble on Eastern Illinois’ first drive of the game and recorded his third career interception. He now has interceptions in two straight games, dating back to last year’s finale against Northwestern. He’s also had interceptions in back-to-back season openers (Toledo, 2023). He became the first Illini defender to force a fumble and pick off a pass in the same game in a year. He had 63 tackles a season ago.
KEY STORYLINES
Kansas Jayhawks
Beating Lindenwood was easy for Kansas and it helped boost them in the AP Top 25 just a big, as the Jayhawks moved up three spots to No. 19. Kansas has been to bowl games in back-to-back season for just the second time in program history and what was a young team last year matured. Coach Lance Leipold has 30 seniors and 15 returning starters. With quarterback Jalon Daniels healthy and running back Devin Neal on the field, Kansas has one of the most explosive offenses in the Big 12. Defensive, the Jayhawks hope to build on what their defense did a year ago, when they held opponents to 378.2 yards per game and 26.5 points per game, both of which were the fewest allowed in a single season by a KU defense since 2007.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Bret Bielema enters his fourth season with Illinois and his return to the Big Ten (he was formerly the coach at Wisconsin) still trying to find some consistency in Champaign. A year after Illinois won eight games in 2022 and reaching a bowl game, Illinois went 5-7 last year and had to watch bowl games on television. This is the program’s 100th anniversary and Bielema would like to get his program back to a bowl game. The Illini are a team to watch in one-score games, as they went 5-3 in those games in 2023. Illinois also hopes to squeeze more out of its 2023 recruiting class, which was its highest rated since 2009.
PREDICTION: Kansas 33, Illinois 28
Kansas’ record in Champaign notwithstanding, the Jayhawks hit the road and claimed a win that kept them undefeated and makes them 1-0 against power conference teams.
