Photo by Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. Pictured: Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Scott Frost.
Nebraska vs. Illinois Odds
| Nebraska Odds | -7 |
| Illinois Odds | +7 |
| Over/Under | 53.5 |
| Date | Saturday, Aug. 28 |
| Time | 1 p.m. ET |
| TV | FOX |
*College football odds updated as of Friday at 6:15 p.m. ET
College football’s opening weekend appetizer, also referred to as “Week 0,” consists of four key Saturday matchups: Nebraska vs. Illinois, Hawaii vs. UCLA, UTEP vs. New Mexico State and Connecticut vs. Fresno State.
Nebraska vs. Illinois, which officially gets the season underway at 1 p.m. ET, is also the most heavily bet game of Week 0.
Considering it’s a matchup of two Big Ten teams that will be shown nationally on FOX, casual bettors are all over this season-opening matchup.
And wouldn’t you know it … sharps have already played a big hand in shaping the latest Nebraska vs. Illinois odds.
Let’s examine how pros are betting Nebraska vs. Illinois and the effect that sharp action is having on Saturday afternoon’s spread.
Nebraska vs. Illinois Pick
Sharp Action
Nebraska opened as a 9.5-point favorite over Illinois at DraftKings Sportsbook, and respected bettors have jumped all over the underdog in this matchup.
According to Action Labs’ Bet Signals, multiple waves of sharp betting action have hit the Illini, driving this price down to the current consensus of Illinois +7, and even to +6.5 at a handful of sportsbooks, like FanDuel.
However, there has been some Nebraska buyback waiting at -6.5 so far this week, so don’t be surprised to see this number settle in at 7 until Saturday afternoon’s kickoff.
Model Projection
The Action Network’s College Football PRO Projections, which are powered by Collin Wilson, set the Nebraska vs. Illinois spread at Illini +5.2, translating to a 3.2% edge when compared to the market consensus of +7.
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