Western Michigan Broncos vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 09/13/25

Western Michigan hits the road for Champaign looking for its first victory. The Broncos were on the short end of a 23-6 loss to Michigan State in the opener in East Lansing back on Aug. 29, and they suffered a 33-30 loss in overtime against North Texas in Kalamazoo last weekend. As a double-digit underdog, though, the Broncos are 2-0 against the spread (ATS) through the first 2 games.

Illinois is ranked No. 9 after picking up a 45-19 victory on the road against the Duke Blue Devils last weekend, and it is also 2-0 ATS so far. The Fighting Illini should be able to amass a decent amount of offense against the struggling Broncos, who have allowed 28.0 points per game (PPG) so far. However, the Broncos should also be able to move the ball against Illinois. The Broncos have a solid backfield option in RB Jalen Buckley, who is not only effective running the football, but he is very efficient catching the ball out of the backfield, too, providing a safety valve for QB Broc Lowry. Western Michigan won’t win this game outright, like it did in the last meeting in 2016 en route to a perfect regular season, but it isn’t going to get blown out by more than 4 touchdowns, either.

Western Michigan vs Illinois prediction: Western Michigan +27.5 (-110) at time of publishing. Playable to +27.

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