Nebraska vs. Illinois Odds: Oddsmakers Give Nebraska a 71.4% Chance at 1-0 Start

Nebraska vs. Illinois Odds: Oddsmakers Give Nebraska a 71.4% Chance at 1-0 Start

It has been a slow start to the Scott Frost rebuild in Nebraska. His first season as a head coach in Lincoln produced four wins. He followed that up with five wins in 2019 and three last season in an abbreviated year. The Nebraska faithful have been patient, but how long will that last?

Luckily for Frost and the rest of the Nebraska football team, the latest Nebraska vs. Illinois odds have the Cornhuskers as massive favorites on both the moneyline and the point spread.

When head coach Scott Frost arrived at Nebraska the expectations were sky high. Frost was a star when he played for the Cornhuskers and had revolutionized the UCF offense as their head coach. But, playing in the Big 10 has proven to be tougher than beating up on AAC schools.

Now, allegations of improper use of analysts and holding practices during the pandemic when instructed not to have been brought up against Frost. This year is crucial for Frost and the Cornhuskers if they’re going to keep him as head coach.

Let’s break down the latest Nebraska vs. Illinois odds and betting and preview the game.

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Nebraska vs. Illinois

Date: Saturday, August 28

Time: 1:00 PM ET

Location: Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL)

Nebraska Record: 0-0 (0-0 Big 10)

Illinois Record: 0-0 (0-0 Big 10)

Nebraska vs. Illinois Preview

Nebraska is expected to be improved this season, but they’re far from a perfect team. Adrian Martinez is back under center for the Cornhuskers. That sentence is probably a polarizing one if you’re a Nebraska fan.

Some believe that Martinez is on the verge of a breakout season and could be the x-factor at QB that Nebraska needs this season. Others have seen Martinez fail enough to move on. No matter which camp you’re in Martinez will be the starting QB this year.

As for Illinois, there is reason to think this program is on its way to turning around, but this won’t be the season we see it. Brett Bielema is taking over as head coach in Champaign. At Wisconsin, Bielema was one of the most sought-after head coach candidates for other schools because of his success with the Badgers. But his tenure at Arkansas was a failure and followed by two stints in the NFL.

Both these teams are in the middle of re-building, but Nebraska’s is further along. They should win this game, but there is also much more pressure for Frost and the Huskers to start with a win against a low-end Big 10 team.

Nebraska vs. Illinois Odds

We know that Nebraska is favored on the road this weekend, but exactly how confident are oddsmakers in the fact that a Nebraska team that has struggled under Scott Frost will be able to go on the road and win with expectations? Quite sure, actually.

A week before the game kicks off, Nebraska is a -250 favorite on the moneyline and a full touchdown favorite according to the point spread at -7. At -250, oddsmakers are implying a 71.4% chance they win.

Meanwhile, Illinois sits at +220, odds that imply they have a 31.1% chance to pull off the upset. I actually like Illinois to cover the spread. But I think Nebraska will be able to pull out a 3-4 point win.

Nebraska vs. Illinois odds

Nebraska vs. Illinois Betting

As for the public betting we’ve seen for Nebraska vs. Illinois, it’s been just as lopsided as the Nebraska vs. Illinois odds.

Since the market for this game has opened, 72.38% of all moneyline bets for this game are on Nebraska to win. Meanwhile, just 27.62% have been on Illinois to pull off the upset. If Nebraska is to win it will be the second time they’ve started 1-0 in the Big 10. The last time was in 2019, when they beat Illinois.