Illinois Fighting Illini Odds

Illinois Fighting Illini 2024 Season Preview

Illinois football is a team of determination. Bret Bielema’s coaching instills a fighting spirit in his players, who consistently show dominance in the trenches.

But that might be different in 2024. The Illini are replacing plenty of production on both lines, and the influx of new team talent in the Big Ten makes their job more challenging.

Illinois has the fourth-longest odds of winning the Big Ten conference, ahead of only Minnesota, Indiana, and Purdue. You can track Illinois’ conference title odds all season, and we have Illinois ranked 65th in our college football betting power ratings, where we’d project Illinois as almost a 30-point underdog to the Big Ten’s top-ranked team – Michigan – on a neutral field.

Here’s how you can bet on Illinois this year, alongside some key things to know.

Betting on Illinois

There are any number of ways to bet on Illinois football this season.

Specifically, check out the game-to-game markets, such as moneylines, point spreads and totals (also known as over/under).

Betting Illinois Moneylines

Since Bielema took over the program in 2021, the Illini are 16-19 on the moneyline, essentially breaking even for bettors. Per our Bet Labs database, betting $100 on Illinois’ moneyline in every game during Bieleman’s tenure would have won you exactly $3.

That’s a weird concept, but let’s explain exactly how a moneyline works.

Here’s how a moneyline bet might look at a sportsbook like DraftKings or FanDuel:

• Illinois: +150
• Indiana: -130

The minus (-) and plus (+) signs distinguish the favorite from the underdog; the Illini are underdogs in this hypothetical.

American odds can be understood better in $100 increments. A wager on Illinois’ moneyline odds in our hypothetical would mean a single $100 bet on the Illini nets $150 in profit, excluding the $100 wager that would be returned.

Conversely, a $130 wager on Indiana’s moneyline would net $100 in profit while also returning your initial $130 wager.

For more moneyline odds, check out our college football odds page.

Betting Illinois Point Spreads

The more typical way bettors play Illinois and other college football teams is on the point spread.

A point spread is a wager on the margin of victory, representing the great equalizer in sports betting. Even the best college football teams are expected to beat the spread only half the time.

Here’s how a point spread bet might look at sportsbooks like bet365 or BetMGM:

• Illinois -2.5 (-110)
• Purdue +2.5 (-110)

There are two parts to every point spread: the spread itself, representing the margin of victory, and the odds, which is what your payout would be. In our hypothetical example, Illinois is a 2.5-point favorite, meaning the Illini must win by three points or more to cover the spread. And if you’re betting that at -110 odds, you must wager $110 for every $100 you want to win.

Conversely, Purdue would have to either win outright or lose by two or fewer points to cover their underdog spread. Again, you’d have to wager $110 for every $100 you want to win.

If you’re still confused, I suggest reading up on how to use American odds or checking out our odds calculator before placing any future wagers.

Betting Illinois Totals

There are three major markets in college football betting: the moneyline, the point spread, and the total. Let’s talk about the third.

Known as the over/under, you’re attempting to predict whether or not the total number of points scored in the game will be higher or lower than what the sportsbook lists.

For example, take this Illinois vs Minnesota game from November of 2023, where the total was set at 44 points:

• Over 44.5 (-110)
• Under 44.5 (-110)

If you bet the over, you would need at least 45 total points between the Illini and Gophers for your bet to cash. If you bet the under, you would need fewer than 45 points.

Like the point spread, there’s a corresponding payout with the over and under. In this case, you’d need to wager $110 to win $100 on either the over or the under.

Illinois Player Props & More

College football player props are limited state-by-state, so it’s often challenging to find prop bets in this market.

If player props are available, you would see things like yardage over/under for specific players (passing, rushing, receiving), to score touchdown props for quarterbacks, wide receivers, and running backs, alongside much more.

If college football props aren’t available in your state, I’d highly recommend checking out a platform like PrizePicks. This site is regulated as a Daily Fantasy Sports site and allows you to pick and pair player props for payouts.