Illinois is coming off its bye week with Oregon waiting in Champaign on Saturday, and the matchup suddenly looks more playable than it did when the schedule first handed it down. The Illini still haven’t been sharp lately, but the finish to the Michigan State win gave them a little life. On the other side, Oregon hasn’t been clicking the way people expected either, which is a big reason this one has at least some intrigue.
A key wrinkle: this is shaping up as a game of backup quarterbacks. Illinois is set to go with Michael Clayton II, while Oregon will likely have Dylan Raiola.
Here’s everything you need to know for Illinois football vs. Oregon.
The game is set for Saturday, October 24, with kickoff at 2:00 p.m. CT/3:00 p.m.
ET at Gies Memorial Stadium. Big Ten Network will carry the television broadcast, while the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network will handle radio coverage.
Illinois enters at 3-3, while Oregon comes in at 4-2.
The TV broadcast crew has not been announced, with play-by-play, analyst and sideline reporter all listed as TBD. On the radio, Brian Barnhart will handle play-by-play, Carey Davis is the analyst, and Kevin Mitchell will report.
Oddsmakers have Illinois as a 9.5-point favorite. The Illini are -110 on the spread, with Oregon +9.5 at -110.
Illinois sits at +280 on the moneyline, while Oregon is -360. The total is 51.5 points, with the over at -112 and the under at -108.
Illinois has several players on the injury report. WR Jayshon Platt, DB Tywan Cox and OL Champ Smith are probable.
OL Kai Pritchard is questionable. RB Ca’Lil Valentine, WR Alex Perry, LB Jack Paris, DL Carter Smith, OL TJ McMillen and TE BJ Thurman are out.
Oregon’s report includes OL Dave Iuli as probable and WR Evan Stewart as questionable. WR Jeremiah McClellan, QB Dante Moore, DB Aaron Flowers, RB Simeon Price, LB Brayden Platt and OL Trent Ferguson are all out.
The weather should cooperate in Champaign. Saturday is expected to bring a high of 76 degrees, clear skies and no rain.
These two programs have only met four times. Oregon won the most recent matchup two seasons ago, rolling to a 38-9 win. Illinois’ lone win in the series came in the first meeting, when the Ducks came to Champaign and left with a 20-16 loss.
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