Daniel Olinger: Northwestern 17, Illinois 16
Illinois plays a very specific way (i.e. an incredibly boring way). It is nothing but HB dives straight into your teeth that hope to wear your defense out, meanwhile the Illini defense just hopes to stall you long enough for the game to enter the well of suck, giving Bret Bielema’s squad a chance to emerge victorious. But Northwestern is well equipped to handle the well of suck. Heck, they practically built it. The gameplay needed to beat Illinois is not easy but it is simple, which is all Pat Fitzgerald and his staff require.