Illinois Challenges Washington in Big Ten Showdown

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00:00All right. Last one here for you, Ben. Staying in the Big Ten, going out west.

00:04I know we've got the two-time zone rule, and this team benefited from this once.

00:09Illinois heading to Washington. Washington favored by about four and a half, five.

00:14Illinois took advantage of USC coming east. We watched Michigan struggle going west.

00:19I mean, really outside of Ohio State and Indiana, and then UCLA coming back east against Michigan State.

00:25It's been the traveling team has struggled. How do we feel about this one for the Illini and Huskies?

00:32Yeah, the traveling team has struggled, and the traveling teams often do struggle.

00:35Again, outside of Ohio State, in Seattle, in Husky Stadium, it is one of the best home field environments at all of college football.

00:42I think it's a tough matchup for Illinois.

00:44The benefit in terms of the logistics of this Big Ten battle really are that Illinois is coming off a bye.

00:50Not a super quick turnaround, of course, like many have seen when you have had to travel across country, across time zones.

00:56Illinois is prepared and ready, and I hope the bye allowed some of the defensive issues for Illinois to be figured out,

01:03because if they are not, DeMond Williams is going to take advantage of an Illini defense

01:07that has been masked some of their issues by the turnovers they have caused.

01:11But they lost that turnover battle to Ohio State by three.

01:15Ohio State converted all three of those turnovers in touchdowns.

01:18If Illinois cannot create chaos for DeMond Williams, Jonah Coleman, and that Huskies offense,

01:23they are in for a long day because of how good that Washington offense can be

01:27and some of the issues for the Illini defense this year.

01:30I think this game is close.

01:31I would not be surprised to see Illinois pull off yet another outright upset under Brett Bielema.

01:3713 outright wins as an underdog since he took the reins in Champaign five years ago.

01:42One of the most among power conference programs in the country in that span.

01:47But the key for the Illini, can they contain a lethal Washington offense?

01:52Very difficult to do in Seattle.