The 2020 Big Ten college league football season is finally regaining momentum with a more memorable emergence from last season at the conference on Friday night. Last October, Illinois struggled to recover from a 20-7 deficit in the second half. Illinois champions 6 Wisconsin, 24-23 thanks to James McCourt’s field goal to win the game, as time went on. Now that the two teams have met again to open the 2020 season, it looks like that won’t happen.
Of course, while Illinois won last year’s meeting, Wisconsin has still been on the winning end of this match many times since. Wisconsin had 10 straight wins in the series before last year’s defeat and even with that the Badgers have won 14 of the last 16 seats and won the -3l-time series 42-38-7. The No. 20 badgers, seen as a favorite in the Big Ten West Division, also enter the 2020 season, when Illinois finishes at the bottom of the group.
Will Friday night mirror those expectations, or will we see a repeat of last season’s surprise? Odds by William Hill Sportsbook
Storylines
Wisconsin: There are some expected intrigues around the Badgers as the season begins. We all knew the team was going to replace its star running Jonathan Taylor and leading receiver Quintez Safe. It wasn’t anyone who saw Jack Con come up with an early quarterback for the team, but Con would lose some time after having surgery on his leg. Enter Graham Mertz, a former top 100 player in the 2019 recruitment class. Mertz saw limited action last season, appearing in only two games, but he completed nine of his 10 pass attempts. However, what remains to be seen is how willing Paul Christ is to trust the inexperienced Mertz.
Illinois: Illinois is coming to its best season in years and has its most experienced, talented roster that is probably even longer. Louie Smith has overall topped the team’s roster with transfers over the last few seasons, and Illini will need to see if those players continue to make an impact if they take a step forward. It helps that he has an experienced offensive line and a senior QB at Brandon Peters. Yet, despite many big wins last season and the appearance of the Bowl, there are still a lot of skeptics left when it comes to this program. Ilini has a lot left to prove.
Viewing information
Date: Friday, 23 Oct Qt. | Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Camp Randall Stadium – Madison, Wisconsin
TV: Big Ten Network | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Game Predictions, Elections
Illinois has not won a game at Camp Randall Stadium since 2002, and the odds are that it will not finish the streak this year. That said, this possibility is much more likely than you think considering its proliferation. Wisconsin is changing a lot in crime and has an inexperienced QB. Illinois is one of the most experienced teams in the country. So while I think Wisconsin’s defense is pretty good at allowing the Badgers to lose this game, with the exception of many offenses, this is better than the Illinois team spread suggestions. Take points. Pick: Illinois (+19.5)
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