After a thrilling win against the Kansas Jayhawks last weekend, the Fighting Illini (2-0) welcome the Chippewas of Central Michigan (1-1) to Champaign for a Saturday afternoon tilt. A win by the Fighting Illini would mark the 1 time since 2011 they start a season 3-0.
Luke Altmyer completed 16 of 25 passes for 192 yards against Kansas but the defense was the story as they forced 3 turnovers vs. the Jayhawks. The win by the Illini marked their first vs. a ranked non-Big Ten opponent for the since September 17, 2011, vs. then #22 Arizona State.
Meanwhile the Chippewas have waxed Central Connecticut 66-10 but been smacked by Florida International 52-16. Turnovers have been an issue for Central Michigan as the Chippewas have thrown 5 picks and lost 1 fumble.
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· Date: Saturday, September 14th, 2024
· Time: 12 PM EST
· Site: Memorial Stadium
· City: Champaign, IL
· TV/Streaming: Peacock
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Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) is expecting the Illini to cover the spread against Central Michigan Saturday:
"I'm going to go ahead and lay the 20 points with Illinois to cover against Central Michigan. Now this is a really big number, but Central Michigan was just torched in their last game against FIU, losing 52-16 while Illinois got the surprise victory - a surprise to us all - over Kansas last week. I think that's a train worth backing here at home."
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o Fighting Illini: Luke Altmyer has thrown for 405 yards and 4 TDs through the season's 1 2 games for Illinois. His most impressive stat however may be the fact he has yet to throw an interception.
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