Illinois Fighting Illini versus Baylor Bears 2010 Texas Bowl Odds, Preview, and Predictions: Head football coach Ron Zook has revived the Illinois Fighting Illini and will lead them to Reliant Stadium to take on the Baylor Bears on Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM ET in the Texas Bowl on ESPN. Baylor enters the game losing 3 in a row at 7-5 4th in the Big 12 South while the Illini have lost 3 of their last 4 and come in at 6-6 and are 4th in the Big Ten. The similarities don’t end there, both have versatile young quarterbacks and a vibrant running back but suspect defenses. “It’s an opportunity for us to get back in the bowl business,” coach Ron Zook said. “(Our players and staff) are looking forward to this opportunity.” “If you look at the teams statistically, and kind of what we’ve done throughout the last couple years, there are a lot of similarities,” Zook said. “Probably going to be a lot of points thrown up on the board.”
“It is exactly what we had to do or felt like we needed to do as a football team,” coach Art Briles told Baylor’s official website. “We needed to take a step in the progression of our program and we did that. “It’s been 16 years since we’ve been in a bowl game and our people are pumped, and rightfully so, because when you’ve looked on the outside for a long time and you finally get a chance to step in the door, it’s a good feeling.” Vegas odds makers have the Baylor Bears a -1 point favorite at Reliant Stadium against the Illinois Fighting Illini.
The Illini are coming off a 25-23 loss on the road to Fresno State to move to 7-4 ATS for the season, not bad for a Big Ten schedule. Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase completed 5 of 16 passes for 61 yards and a touchdown also carrying the ball 24 times for 131 yards and another score. Running back Mikel LeShoure carried 19 times for 142 yards including a 35 yard touchdown run. The total has gone OVER in 5 of Illinois’s last 6 games.
Baylors most recent loss came at the hands of Oklahoma 52-24 beat down at home moving them to 5-6 ATS for the season. Quarterback Robert Griffin completed 10 of 33 passes for 124 yards 1 touchdown and 2 picks while rushing 12 times for an additional 83 yards. Baylor is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games and the total has gone OVER in 7 of Baylor’s last 8 games. Odds makers at SBG Global have the over/under for the total score at 62 1/2 points combined of the Illinois Fighting Illini and Baylor Bears.
Note: Rich Fritz is a Blog Writer on NSAwins.com and not a pro handicapper. For expert NFL Football Predictions against the Vegas spreads please visit the NSAwins.com homepage for top predictions today from the National Sports Advisors.