The Illinois Fighting Illini and Northwestern Wildcats will conclude their regular seasons in the Friendly Confines from Wrigley Field. Illinois is currently ranked 23rd nationally and is looking to complete its first 9-win season since 2007. The Illini have won their last two games, scoring 38 points in each win. Northwestern will not be able to play in a bowl game this season. The Wildcats have lost 4 of their last 5 games, with all 4 losses by a margin of 20 or more points. Their only win is a 26-20 win over 1-10 Purdue. This can be considered a home game for Northwestern, but things didn’t work out well at Wrigley. NU is 0-4 at this venue since 2010. I expect several Illini fans to make the trek north and for this game to feel more like a neutral site.

“Cats quarterback Jack Lausch took over the starting job from Mike Wright earlier this season after Wright struggled in his first two games. Northwestern loves throwing the football, but unfortunately the Wildcats have struggled even with Lausch. They attempted more passes than they ran, despite averaging just 5.7 yards per attempt and 172.9 yards per game through the air this season. Lausch has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns, which will be a problem against Illinois – a team that excels in the passing game. Illinois has 9 interceptions this season and is holding opponents to an average of 212 passing yards per game. Illinois struggles against the run, but Northwestern hasn’t been able to mount a consistent rushing attack yet this season. Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer had his best year ever in Orange with 20 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions. I expect the Illini to improve to 9 wins at the expense of Northwestern.

Illinois vs Northwestern Prediction: Illinois -7.5 (-110) available at time of publication. Playable under this number.

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