Central Michigan at Illinois Betting Pick & Prediction – 9/14/2024

The Central Michigan Chippewas will take on the Illinois Fighting Illini on September 14, 2024, at 12:00 pm ET. DraftKings Sportsbook has the Chippewas as 19.5 point underdogs. Early betting trends show 87% of spread bets on Central Michigan and 13% on Illinois. The total of 49.5 has seen 32% of bets on the under and 68% on the over. Continue reading for our breakdown of Central Michigan vs Illinois and for our best bet in this Midwestern matchup.

Central Michigan Looking For First FBS Victory Of 2024

The Central Michigan Chippewas are 1-1 to start their 2024 campaign in college football. After a Week 1 win over the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils of the FCS, the Chips were blown out on the road by the Florida International Panthers at the newly-named Pitbull Stadium. This week, Central Michigan will look for its first win against an FBS opponent on the season, but will have to answer some major questions on the offensive side of the ball going into this Central Michigan vs Illinois matchup.

Against FIU last week, the Chippewas gave up just 309 yards of offense to their opponents. But they turned the ball over six times, putting their defense in terrible positions throughout the game. Central Michigan can't afford a repeat performance on the turnover front if they want any chance to come away with their first win over an FBS opponent on the season.

Can Illinois Grab Third Straight Win?

Things have gone wonderfully for the Illinois Fighting Illini early in the college football season. They are 2-0 with wins over FCS Eastern Illinois and the Kansas Jayhawks to begin their campaign. Here, they will look to pick up a third win in a row as a road game against a ranked Nebraska team looms on the horizon after this for the Illini.

Defense has been the area where Illinois has had the most success in their first two games of this season. The Illini have held their two opponents to a combined 17 points so far this year. If they can shut Central Michigan down in this game and prolong the turnover problems for the Chippewas, we could see Illinois ranked going into next week with a convincing enough victory here.

Central Michigan vs Illinois Best Bet

Our best bet for this weekend's Central Michigan vs Illinois game is for the Illinois Fighting Illini to cover the spread as a home favorite. The Illini should be able to shut down the Chippewas with their defense, which will mean that Illinois won't have to do too much scoring to cover the big point spread in this game. That is exactly what we expect to happen in Champaign on Saturday afternoon.

For more on today's game check out the comprehensive statistics, betting odds, and trends below. Be sure to check out all our free NCAAFB picks here.