Buckeyes open week as double-digit favorite at Illinois

COLUMBUS — Ohio State will hit the road for the second time this season and head West to Champaign, Illinois, to take on Illinois on Saturday.

The Buckeyes will do so as a 14.5-point favorite, according to the folks at BetMGM. The total has been set at 50.5 points for the Big Noon Kickoff on FOX between the No. 1 Buckeyes and the No. 17 Illini.

Much like the trip to Washington two weeks ago, this isn’t a road trip that will sneak up on Ohio State. The Illini have the full attention of the Buckeyes, and Ohio State head coach Ryan Day made that clear Saturday night after a dominant win over Minnesota.

“We’re going to go on the road against Illinois next week,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “It’s going to be a bear. You saw what happened in college football today. You’ve got to bring it every week, and the team that’s desperate and the team that’s hungry is going to win the game. And it’s our job to make sure it doesn’t take a loss to make sure we are hungry and desperate. But these guys are still kids, and so you’ve got to keep hammering home.”

Ohio State will enter a huge road matchup against a ranked team that is looking to crash the College Football Playoff party this season. It’s going to be a tough test at Illinois, but the Buckeyes are favored to win by double digits.

Buckeyes vs. Illini betting trends

+ Ohio State is 4-1 against the spread this season. The Buckeyes covered against Texas, Grambling State, Washington and Minnesota but failed to cover the spread by 0.5 points against Ohio.
+ Illinois is 5-1 against the spread so far this season.
+ The total has gone under in four of the Buckeyes five games so far.
+ The OVER is 4-2 in the Illini’s first six games.
+ Since 2021, Brett Beilema’s first season, Illinois is 6-5 against the spread as a home underdog.
+ Ohio State has not lost to a team that was formerly in the Big Ten West in the Ryan Day era.
+ The Buckeyes have won nine straight over the Illini, dating back to 2008. The NCAA only recognizes eight straight wins because one of the nine came during the 2010 season, which was vacated.
+ Illinois is 9-4 against the spread when facing ranked teams under Brett Beilema.
+ Ohio State is 15-16-1 against the spread against ranked teams under Ryan Day.

Ohio State at Illinois game information

Date: Saturday, Oct. 11
Time: 12 p.m, ET
Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
TV: FOX
Stream: FOX

On The Call — FOX

Play-by-Play: Gus Johnson
Analyst: Joel Klatt
Reporter: Jenny Taft

On The Call — Ohio State Sports Network from LEARFIELD

Play-by-Play: Paul Keels
Analyst: Jim Lachey
Reporter: Tyler Danburg

2025 Buckeyes football schedule

Aug. 30 — vs. Texas (14-7 W)
Sept. 6 — vs. Grambling (70-0 W)
Sept. 13 — vs. Ohio (37-9 W)
Sept. 20 — IDLE
Sept. 27 — at Washington (24-6 W)
Oct. 4 — vs. Minnesota (42-3 W)
Oct. 11 — at Illinois (Noon, FOX)
Oct. 18 — at Wisconsin
Oct. 25 — IDLE
Nov. 1 — vs. Penn State
Nov. 8 — at Purdue
Nov. 15 — vs. UCLA
Nov. 22 — vs. Rutgers
Nov. 29 — at Michigan (Noon, FOX)