The college football season begins this Saturday and we've got you covered with Sharp Football betting analysis, coverage and market opportunities.
Let's look at Wyoming vs Illinois which kicks off at 4 PM ET on August 27.
Wyoming is coming off a strong year and reached a bowl for the fourth time under head coach Craig Bohl, but the Cowboys were crushed by graduation and the transfer portal, and return only five starters.
Illinois should be improved in Year 2 under head coach Bret Bielema, who wants to lean on the run game with one of the Big Ten’s best ball carriers, Chase Brown.
Wyoming at Illinois Spread, current line:
Wyoming vs Illinois Prediction, Against the Spread:
Illinois is rarely a double-digit favorite, but this looks like a good opportunity to lay the points and take Illinois -11 against Wyoming.
When Illinois is on Offense
Illinois ran the ball at a 55% rate last season and the run game has always been Bielema’s calling card. Expect them to lean heavily on Brown and backup Josh McCray, who each picked up over 3.0 yards after contact per attempt.
Wyoming will be replacing nine starters on defense, most notably linebacker Chad Muma (Jaguars third-round pick). Even with a future NFL linebacker on the roster, the Cowboys defense ranked 105th in the nation in opponent-adjusted EPA per rush attempt.
Syracuse transfer Tommy DeVito is expected to start at quarterback for Illinois. DeVito was a liability at Syracuse 一 he generated -1 EPA or worse on 25% of his career dropbacks 一 but he’ll be asked to more of a game-manager at Illinois than in Dino Babers’s offense at Syracuse.
When Wyoming is on Offense
Wyoming used two quarterbacks last year (Sean Chambers and Levi Williams), both of whom transferred. Leading rusher Xazavian Valladay transferred as well.
This isn’t the type of program that tends to quickly retool 一 they haven’t had three consecutive winning seasons since the late 1990s. So expect this unit to take a significant step backwards.
Illinois returns six starters, including three defensive backs, from a defense which ranked 36th in the nation in opponent-adjusted EPA per dropback allowed.
Other College Football Betting Predictions for Week 0: