Ohio State Buckeyes vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 10/11/25

One of the more meaningful clashes in the B1G this season is Ohio State vs Illinois. This is a Big Noon Kickoff game, so energy will be high. Illinois came into the season thinking they had a shot at the College Football Playoff, and a strong showing here is key for their hopes. Ohio State is cruising through the season and has yet to be challenged. This should be the hardest spot on the schedule to date for the Buckeyes. This line has also been dropping, as it was -16.5 earlier in the week but is now -14.5. This game has all the signs of a sneaky spot for one of the top teams in the nation to find themselves in a dogfight on the road. I am going with Illinois and the points at +14.5.

This is certainly not a comfortable play, and most bettors will take one look at the Indiana beatdown and dismiss Illinois as total pretenders. But let’s look at what happened there: Illinois was missing 3 of its 4 starters in the secondary, Indiana exposed that, and once things started to snowball, Illinois essentially packed it in and chose to live to fight another day. The key to this game is whether Illinois can match Ohio State’s scoring. We know the Buckeyes will score, even with a freshman QB out there who has mostly been protected in a safe offensive scheme. If Illinois does much of anything offensively, they would be the first team to get to 10 against the Buckeyes this season. But the Illini can run the ball effectively, and Luke Altmyer is a talented QB. He has thrown for 1500 yards already, and he has yet to throw a pick. With some steady leadership and a rowdy home crowd, I think Illinois can stay close here. I’ll take the points, as long as the line stays above 14.

Ohio State vs Illinois Prediction: Illinois Fighting Illini +14.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Bet like a Caesar with this AMAZING new customer offer from Caesars Sportsbook. If you bet just $1, you’ll receive DOUBLE YOUR WINNINGS on your next 20 bets! Become a Caesars member 👥 using the Caesars promo code PWCONTENT20X, where you can bet on our Ohio State vs Illinois picks.

No team has yet reached double digits against the Ohio State defense this season, not Washington at Washington and not the Texas Longhorns. Indeed, the Buckeyes have allowed just 25 combined points across 5 games. While I think Illinois can keep up in this game better than those others, it is hard to imagine the Illini really lighting up the scoreboard against this defense. On the other side, Ohio State has found a lot of success this season, but 14 points against Texas and 24 against Washington demonstrate that the Buckeyes are quite content to play a safer, more conservative brand of football. As long as they are playing from ahead, the Buckeyes are not likely to turn freshman QB Julian Sayin totally loose. All of that would push us to a game total under 49.5.

If Illinois is going to stay in this game, it most likely can’t be a pure shootout. Illinois will need to shorten the game and limit the possessions, and I look for the Illini to try to work a little more of a controlled, run-based offense that keeps the Buckeye offense on the sideline. I also think Ohio State will be fine to play that way, at least as long as they are winning. We could see a bit more classic Big 10 field position game play here. I see this game more in the range of 27-13.

Ohio State vs Illinois Prediction: Under 49.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Now you can bet any of our Ohio State vs Illinois predictions at FanDuel Sportsbook, which has a great new-customer offer to take advantage of. If you sign up for FanDuel right now, you earn a welcome bonus worth up to $300 if your first $5 bet wins! Use this link 🔗 to join FanDuel right now and learn more.