It's almost time for Rutgers Football as the Scarlet Knights are back home this weekend for the final time this season, as they welcome the Illinois Fighting Illini to town.
With that being said, our staff here at The Knight Report offers their predictions for Saturday afternoon's showdown between the two programs.
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SPREAD: Illinois -1.0pt || Over/Under: 56.5pts
RICHIE O’LEARY — Rutgers: 20 || Illinois: 17
I have a feeling this game will be exactly what fans see when they look up Big Ten Football in the dictionary. It’s going to be boring, it’s going to be ugly and it’s going to low scoring, smash mouth football.
This one is going to come down to if the same Rutgers that showed up the past two weeks can show up this week and make life uncomfortable for Altmyer. If they can do that, I’m confident they can force a turnover and make some things happen on offense to squeak out the ugly victory.
CRAIG EPSTEIN— Illinois: 27 || Rutgers: 21
If you were to ask me two weeks ago who I thought would win this game, I likely would have said Illinois without hesitation. However, the Scarlet Knights have seemingly gotten their season back on track with wins over Minnesota and Maryland. Now, the question becomes if they can beat a ranked team for the first time since 2009.
As the week has progressed, this game has felt more and more like a true toss-up, but I am going to lean on history here and say Rutgers comes up just a little bit short. Illinois poses a balanced attack both offensively and defensively as QB Luke Altmeyer leads the Big Ten in touchdown-to-interception ratio with 18 TDs and three picks. The Illini’s defense also leads the league in sacks in conference play (3.14).
Rutgers will likely need to be firing on all cylinders to come out of this game with a win. While that has become more of a realistic possibility after watching its last two games, I think the Scarlet Knights will take a bit of a step back this week and leave the door open just a bit for Illinois to kick down.
MIKE BROADBENT — Rutgers: 27 || Illinois: 20
Rutgers is able to clinch a winning record on the season with a win Saturday over the Illini. Offensively, Rutgers is able to exploit a porous run defense (112th in PFF team run defense grade) and Kyle Monangai surpasses 100 yards rushing for the first time in over a month.
Defensively Rutgers is able to continue it’s hot streak and pressure Luke Altmyer throughout the day, forcing 3 sacks and an interception by Shaquon Loyal.
ALEC CROUTHAMEL — Rutgers: 26 || Illinois: 20
I’ve been burned by not trusting my gut - which says Illinois comes in and wins in the trenches against a banged-up offensive line - multiple times this season, but I’ve learned absolutely nothing and I’m going to do it again!
Despite being down two starters on the line, the Scarlet Knights’ offense is rolling right now, spearheaded by Athan Kaliakmanis’ efficiency taking the underneath route and also pushing the ball down the field. Couple that with Kyle Monangai continuing to churn the legs forward, this offense has turned into a legitimate weapon.
The defense’s demise has been greatly exaggerated as well, and they’re going up against a weaker Illinois offensive line than one would expect from a Bret Bielema-coached team. If Rutgers can get pressure on Luke Altmeyer they can force him into some mistakes and take the ball away, one thing they’ve done better in the turnaround since the bye.
In a battle of similar styles, the Scarlet Knights come in with the momentum riding high after clinching bowl eligibility with two straight wins. They make it three in another grind-it-out, classic Big Ten rockfight.
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