NCAA Football
2025-10-11 - Ohio State Buckeyes at Illinois Fighting Illini
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : College Football Week 7
Saturday 11th October 2025 - Scheduled 12pm
5pm (British Time)
Preview
Things can change so quickly and so dramatically in the world of College Football and that is evidenced by the losses picked up by the Texas Longhorns and Penn State Nittany Lions. The top two pre-season Ranked teams are already unranked, just weeks into the 2025 season, and the plight of both will be a warning to the other top teams around the nation.
Defending Champions Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0) earned an opening week win over the Longhorns, although that victory does not look nearly as good now as it felt back in Week 1. Remaining undefeated has pushed the Buckeyes along and they are 2-0 in Big Ten Conference play after securing comfortable wins over the Washington Huskies and Minnesota Golden Gophers.
However, this game in Week 7 might be the toughest the Buckeyes have faced to this point of the campaign as they prepare to travel to the Illinois Fighting Illini (5-1) who are also 2-1 in the Big Ten.
A loss like the one suffered at the Indiana Hoosiers might have irreparably damaged the Illinois season- they were not just beaten in that opening Big Ten game, but they were embarrassed. However, credit has to be given to the players and the Coaching staff that Illinois have been able to bounce back with a home win over the USC Trojans and a road win over Purdue, the former being unbeaten when they faced the Fighting Illini, and another win in Week 7 will certainly have Illinois competing for a place in the College Football Playoff.
You would make the Fighting Illini favourites to win out if they are able to beat Ohio State this week, although the case for the team making the Playoff will be much harder to make if they were to lose to the Buckeyes having already been beaten by Illinois.
That means there is some pressure on Illinois as they look to become the first team to give this Buckeyes Defensive unit some questions to answer.
Through five games, the Ohio State Buckeyes are allowing an average of 5 points per game, while they have held teams to an average of just 215 total Offensive yards.
A couple of key players could be returning for the Fighting Illini on this side of the ball, but it is going to be very tough for the home team to produce consistently with the ball in their hands. The problems begin up front with the Buckeyes Defensive Line clamping down on the run and Illinois have been having issues establishing the run anyway, which suggests all of the pressure will be on Luke Altmyer at Quarter Back.
Luke Altmyer will take confidence from the performances he has put on the board, but throwing against this Buckeyes Secondary has proven to be a real difficulty for anyone attempting to do so. He is likely going to be in third and long spots, which is going to be a problem for an Offensive Line that has struggled in pass protection, and Altmyer is going to be attempting to make plays with said protection breaking down around him against this fierce Ohio State pass rush.
And as mentioned, Altmyer will still be trying to find spaces to exploit against the Ohio State Secondary that have been producing at a high level. Interceptions have not really been racked up by the Buckeyes, but they have stopped drives and that has allowed the team to pull clear for comfortable wins through the five games played.
Minnesota Head Coach PJ Fleck stated you have to 'pick your poison' when facing this Buckeyes team with the ball in hand and it is very difficult to see how Illinois are going to find consistent stops of their own.
Since the Big Ten play started, the Fighting Illini Defensive Line has allowed some huge chunks of yardage to be picked up on the ground and they are going to have issues against the Buckeyes Offensive Line that have opened up huge holes up front. With the team likely to be doing the same on Saturday, Julian Sayin will be kept in a comfortable position to make plays at Quarter Back and he is also targeting elite Receivers.
Over the last three games, teams are averaging over 300 passing yards per game against the Fighting Illini Secondary and so this feels like another comfortable day for Ohio State.
Julian Sayin has thrown 3 Interceptions, but also has 13 Touchdown passes and the Buckeyes should be really well balanced Offensively, which ultimately should lead to a solid win on the day.
These two Big Ten teams have not met since 2017, but the last five Ohio State wins have been by margins of 38, 25, 41, 25 and 30 point margins and the 2025 Buckeyes look capable of taking care of the spread set.
Illinois have been a really good underdog to back under Head Coach Bret Bielema, but they are 1-1 against the spread in that spot this season and the 53 point defeat to the Indiana Hoosiers is the one result that stands out the most.
Being blown out to that level at home is unlikely, but the Fighting Illini may struggle to stop Ohio State whenever the Buckeyes have the ball and that could lead to a big enough win to cover this mark.
Prediction
Lay the points with the road favourite.
The Pick :
Illinois 13-31 Ohio State Buckeyes
