The bye week for the Michigan Wolverines was well needed; a 4-2 start to the season and a loss in Seattle two weeks ago to Washington put them behind in their goals of winning the Big Ten and making the College Football Playoff.

A significantly more difficult second half of the season starts this week. Four of the Wolverines’ final six opponents are currently ranked, and one of the other two is a rivalry matchup with the Michigan State Spartans. Up first is a top-25 contest with the No. 22 Illinois Fighting Illini in Champaign.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch Saturday’s matchup.

No. 24 Michigan Wolverines vs. No. 22 Illinois Fighting Illini

• Day: Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024
• TV: CBS/Paramount+
• Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
• Location: Champaign, Illinois
• Weather: 69 degrees, sunny
• Odds: UM -3 O/U: 42.5

Bret Bielema has this program playing some solid football. Illinois has played up to its competition, beating two ranked opponents, Kansas and Nebraska, as underdogs. It also took a one-possession game into the fourth quarter against Penn State in Happy Valley just two weeks ago.

Opinions of the Fighting Illini shifted after a close call with Purdue last weekend went into overtime. The Boilermakers mounted a comeback from a 27-3 deficit and were a failed two-point conversion away from pulling off the upset.

Jack Tuttle will make his first start of the season for an offense looking for answers. The Wolverines should also come into this contest healthier than they were in that loss to Washington with Derrick Moore, Dom Guidice, and Myles Hinton all hopeful to be healthy enough to suit up. The Wolverines must be better on offense than the last time we saw them to win this game.

Defensively, some changes to happen. Under Wink Martindale, what was once a vaunted Michigan defense has become mediocre with much of the same talent. Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer has been a huge reason for their success. He’s taken care of the football with a 14-1 touchdown/interception ratio and completing 67.7 percent of his passes. That’s helped Illinois be ranked the No. 33 team in the country converting on third down (45.3 percent). That’s been a major source of concern for this Michigan defense all season long, so stopping drives will be paramount.

After nearly 100 points in Illinois’ game last week, and a full contest with Tuttle at quarterback, I feel like there will be points aplenty in this one, too. I’ll be putting some money on the over on a fairly low total at 42.5, and I suspect it will be very close.

The play: O42.5

Other top games in Week 8

The play: NEB +6.5

The play: Over 56.5

Betting Record: 9-13