Northwestern vs Illinois Prediction, Picks & Odds | 29 Nov 2025

College Football Betting Preview: Northwestern vs Illinois

Northwestern go up against Illinois at Memorial Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 19:30 on Saturday, November 29.

There’s a generous line of -7.5 when it comes to Illinois in their meeting with Northwestern. The -110 that they cover the spread has plenty of juice and our prediction is it will happen.

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Northwestern Wildcats have suffered successive road defeats. Their most recent game was a 38-35 home win at Wrigley Field where they beat Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Illinois Fighting Illini have landed two home wins on the spin. It was a road defeat to Wisconsin Badgers in their last game, losing 27-10 at Camp Randall Stadium.

Head-to-Head Statistics

Illini beat Northwestern in their last head-to-head matchup. It was a 38-28 scoreline at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. There has been three wins apiece in the past 6 H2H meetings.

Quarterbacks

Preston Stone

173.5 Passing Yards

Over -114

Under -114

Luke Altmyer

230.5 Passing Yards

Over -114

Under -114

Northwestern vs Illinois Prediction & Picks

Our Northwestern vs Illinois betting preview covers everything you need, including a key match prediction, correct score insight, top player prop bets and a value-packed bet builder recommendation.

Game Prediction

Our best pick is that Illinois will gain the upper hand in this college football matchup. This leads us to back the favorites against the spread at -110, with the -7.5 line offering plenty of appeal.

Tracking injury updates is a big part of our CFB analysis and team news plays a major role in shaping our picks. We combine this with recent form and the most important stats to get a complete picture.

Key Northwestern vs Illinois stats:

• The -7.5 line has been covered by Illinois in 4 of their last 6 games at home this season.
• The -7.5 line has been covered by Illinois in 6 of their last 10 games at home.
• The -7.5 line has been covered by Illinois in 2 consecutive games at home.
• The +7.5 line hasn’t been covered by Northwestern in 13 of their last 20 games on the road.
• The +7.5 line hasn’t been covered by Northwestern in 3 of their last 5 games on the road.

Illini -7.5 Probability

If you go by the best sportsbooks, our pick has a 52.4% prospect of winning. However, our cappers research has found that the actual probability is between 55-60%. This is why we regard this as a value bet.

If you want to land bigger odds, you might be interested to know that you can move the betting line. There’s extra juice depending on how risky you want your wager to be.

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Our Game Prediction

Illinois -7.5 @ -110 Bet Now

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Player Prop Picks

Top Pick: Caleb Komolafe Anytime TD -105

The odds for Caleb Komolafe (Northwestern) to record a TD are -105. We believe there’s merit in backing him for an Anytime Touchdown Scorer prop wager, meaning we need him to punch it in.

Latest Caleb Komolafe Player Prop Odds

Touchdown

Anytime

-105

First

+550

Rushing Yards

Over 72.5

-114

Under 72.5

-114

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Hayden Eligon II Under 38.5 Receiving Yards -114

Hayden Eligon II (Northwestern) is available at -114 to end with fewer than 38.5 receiving yards. We're confident he’ll fall short of the Player Receiving Yards line, so we're backing the Under.

Latest Hayden Eligon II Player Prop Odds

Touchdown

Anytime

+360

First

+1900

Receiving Yards

Over 38.5

-114

Under 38.5

-114

Correct Score Prediction

Northwestern 21 - 30 Illinois

You don’t need a big stake to enjoy a massive return by getting this correct score right. We’re going for the Illini to achieve a 30-21 win and hopefully this goes close.

Northwestern vs Illinois Odds

The odds and lines are updated on a frequent basis. You might therefore find that they are different to the ones listed for the betting predictions and bet builder tips.

With the sportsbooks giving them a 76% probability of winning this college game, Illinois might be a popular parlay pick. That is reflected in their -313 Moneyline betting odds. For those wanting to back Northwestern, you will find +250 about the underdogs.

7.5 is the spread and 44.5 is the total points line. The beauty of the Totals is that you only have to choose from one of two options. There’s the chance to back Under 44.5 at -110.

Whether you are wagering pre-game or in-game on college football, the top betting apps let you feast on a wide range of team props and game lines. The selections are practically endless, and it’s awesome to have so many options at your fingertips.

Moneyline

Northwestern

+250

Illini

-313

Point Spread

Northwestern +7.5

-110

Illini -7.5

-110

Total Points

Under 44.5

-110

Over 44.5

-110

Caleb Komolafe is the market leader at +550 to be the First TD Scorer. Should you think he will score the final touchdown, then a similar price can be found.

Touchdown

Caleb Komolafe (Northwestern)

First TD

+550

Anytime TD

-105

Hank Beatty (Illini)

First TD

+700

Anytime TD

+130

Kaden Feagin (Illini)

First TD

+700

Anytime TD

+130

Ca'Lil Valentine (Illini)

First TD

+800

Anytime TD

+160

Hudson Clement (Illini)

First TD

+900

Anytime TD

+170

Griffin Wilde (Northwestern)

First TD

+950

Anytime TD

+155

Collin Dixon (Illini)

First TD

+1000

Anytime TD

+230

Aidan Laughery (Illini)

First TD

+1100

Anytime TD

+240

Luke Altmyer (Illini)

First TD

+1300

Anytime TD

+270

Joseph Himon II (Northwestern)

First TD

+1500

Anytime TD

+230

Justin Bowick (Illini)

First TD

+1700

Anytime TD

+440

Hayden Eligon II (Northwestern)

First TD

+1900

Anytime TD

+360

Tanner Arkin (Illini)

First TD

+2200

Anytime TD

+600

Hunter Welcing (Northwestern)

First TD

+2500

Anytime TD

+500

Ricky Ahumaraeze (Northwestern)

First TD

+3300

Anytime TD

+700

Preston Stone (Northwestern)

First TD

+4000

Anytime TD

+800

Receiving Yards

Griffin Wilde (Northwestern)

Over 65.5

-114

Under 65.5

-114

Hank Beatty (Illini)

Over 54.5

-114

Under 54.5

-114

Hayden Eligon II (Northwestern)

Over 38.5

-114

Under 38.5

-114

Hudson Clement (Illini)

Over 34.5

-114

Under 34.5

-114

Collin Dixon (Illini)

Over 32.5

-114

Under 32.5

-114

Rushing Yards

Caleb Komolafe (Northwestern)

Over 72.5

-114

Under 72.5

-114

Ca'Lil Valentine (Illini)

Over 36.5

-114

Under 36.5

-114

Kaden Feagin (Illini)

Over 28.5

-114

Under 28.5

-114

Passing Yards

Luke Altmyer (Illini)

Over 230.5

-114

Under 230.5

-114

Preston Stone (Northwestern)

Over 173.5

-114

Under 173.5

-114

Illini Sitting on Eight Wins in Past Ten at Home

Illini have eight wins and two losses in the last 10 games at home, putting up 32.50 points per matchup and giving up 18.50.

Northwestern have four wins and six losses in the last 10 road games, posting 19.60 points per matchup while yielding 29.70.

The last time Northwestern faced Illini at Memorial Stadium, they won 45-43. From the last 3 head-to-head meetings at Memorial Stadium, Northwestern have claimed two wins, with Illini posting one.

Last 10 Games		W-L	P	PF	PA	O44.5	U44.5
Illinois Home Stats		8-2	51.00	32.50	18.50	6	4
Northwestern Away Stats		4-6	49.30	19.60	29.70	7	3

• W-L = Wins-Losses
• P = Avg. Points
• PF = Avg. Points For
• PA = Avg. Points Against
• O44.5 = Games Over 44.5 Points
• U44.5 = Games Under 44.5 Points

Latest regular season and playoff games stats.

Northwestern Wildcats Stats

Illinois Fighting Illini Stats

Moneyline

• 6 wins and 4 defeats in the last 10 games
• 4 wins and 6 defeats in the last 10 games on the road

Moneyline

• 6 wins and 4 defeats in the last 10 games
• 8 wins and 2 defeats in the last 10 home games

Point Spread

• +7.5 Betting Line: Have covered the spread in 8 of the last 10 games
• +7.5 Betting Line on the Road: Have covered the spread in 5 of the last 10 games on the road

Point Spread

• -7.5 Betting Line: Have covered the spread in 5 of the last 10 games
• -7.5 Betting Line at Home: Have covered the spread in 6 of the last 10 home games

Total Points

• Game Totals: An average of 46.20 pts in the previous 10 games
• Game Totals on the Road: An average of 49.30 pts in the previous 10 games on the road
• Over 44.5: Covered in 7 of the previous 10 games
• Over 44.5 on the Road: Covered in 7 of the previous 10 games on the road
• Team Totals: Have scored an average of 25.40 pts and allowed 20.80 pts in the last 10 games
• Team Totals on the Road: Have scored an average of 19.60 pts and allowed 29.70 pts in the last 10 games on the road

Total Points

• Game Totals: An average of 54.30 pts in the previous 10 games
• Game Totals at Home: An average of 44.90 pts in the previous 10 home games
• Over 44.5: Covered in 7 of the previous 10 games
• Over 44.5 at Home: Covered in 5 of the previous 10 home games
• Team Totals: Have scored an average of 28.00 pts and allowed 26.30 pts in the last 10 games
• Team Totals at Home: Have scored an average of 29.60 pts and allowed 15.30 pts in the last 10 home games

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