Western Michigan Broncos vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/13/2025

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 13, 2025

Venue:  University of Illinois Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL 

Where to Watch:  Fox Sports 1

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  WMU +27.5, Illinois -27.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  WMU +27.5, Illinois -27.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  WMU +27.5, Illinois -27.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

Western Michigan Broncos:  0-2 (0-0) (10th place, MAC)

Illinois Fighting Illini:  2-0 (0-0) (4th place, Big Ten)

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Western Michigan Broncos:  lost their last game at home against the North Texas Mean Green 33-30 in overtime.

Illinois Fighting Illini:  won their last game on the road against the Duke Blue Devils 45-19.

Western Michigan is entering this game with a 0-2 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 0-1 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They lost their last game against North Texas 33-30 in OT. Broc Lowry was the starting QB and he completed 5/10 passes for 75 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. Jalen Buckley led the team in rushing yards with 112. Jalen Buckley led the receivers with 51 receiving yards on 2 receptions and 1 TD. Sefa Saipaia Jr. led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Rodney McGraw led the defense in sacks with 2.5. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Illinois is entering this game with a 2-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 1-0 in their home games, 1-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against Duke 45-19. Luke Altmyer was the starting QB and he completed 22/31 passes for 296 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Kaden Feagin led the team in rushing yards with 48 and 1 TD. Hank Beatty led the receivers with 128 receiving yards on 8 receptions. Matthew Bailey and Miles Scott each led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Gabe Jacas and Tanner Heckel each led the defense in sacks with 1. Tanner Heckel came away with the only interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Illinois listed as a 27.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Illinois has a 2-0 record overall this season and they have looked great in both of their games. They just beat Duke 45-19 in their last one and their offense has been rolling. Their defense also looked great, only giving up 19 points on the road against a pretty good offense, and the defense also created a lot of turnovers in that one. Meanwhile, Western Michigan has a 0-2 record overall this season and they haven't looked great in either game. They haven't had a tough schedule to start the season either. Their first game of the season was on the road against Michigan State and that was always going to be tough for them against a power 4 opponent, but now they are off a home loss to North Texas in OT. They managed to put up 30 points in that one, but the offense didn't look good at all and their QB didn't have much of a passing game either. The defense didn't look great either and this will be the best offense that they have seen so far. Western Michigan is going to be playing catch up the entire time in this game and they just don't have the offense to do enough to keep this game within the number. The best way to place a bet here is on Illinois to cover the spread in this game. 

Western Michigan Illinois Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 13, 2025 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Illinois 52 WMU 10.

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Western Michigan Broncos: 6-10 ATS as an underdog. 3-6 ATS after playing a game at home. 5-9 ATS on the road in games played on turf. 7-4 UNDER as a road underdog. 6-3 UNDER after playing a game at home.

Illinois Fighting Illini: 14-6 ATS in all lined games. 7-0 ATS after scoring 37 points or more last game. 4-0 ATS after a win by 17 or more points. 7-2 UNDER in home lined games. 5-1 UNDER when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 

Western Michigan Broncos:  C. Webb (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Thomas (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Moon (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. G. Carter (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Cabana (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed.

Illinois Fighting Illini:  A. Knapik (OG) Questionable - Knee. L. Farrell (TE) Questionable - Undisclosed. B. Clawson (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Clarke (CB) Questionable - Hamstring. T. Cox (CB) Out - Undisclosed. J. Forster (RB) Out - Undisclosed. J. Hirdes (OG) Out - Knee. G. Smith (TE) Out - Undisclosed.

“We laid it on the line and showed a lot of grit, but we made too many mistakes and had too many penalties in critical situations. I thought up until the last play that we were going to win that game.” - Lance Taylor after his team’s loss against UNT in their last game. 

“It was really cool to kind of have some hurdles to climb over in the first half. We know if we do the right things, we're a really good team.” - Luke Altmyer after their win against Duke in their last game. 

WR Leary, Christian

WR Dieudonne, Malique

WR Williams, Tailique

TE Bosma, Blake

QB Jones, Brady

RB Buckley, Jalen

WR Clement, Hudson

WR Elzy, Malik

WR Dixon, Collin

TE Arkin, Tanner

TE Stoffel, Davin

QB Altmyer, Luke

RB Laughery, Aidan

Passing: B. Lowry (166)

Rushing: J. Buckley (133)

Receiving: B. Brooks (90)

Touchdowns: B. Lowry (2)

Passing: L. Altmyer (513)

Rushing: K. Feagin (122)

Receiving: H. Beatty (236)

Touchdowns: J. Bowick (3)

Coaches:

Western Michigan Broncos: Lance Taylor (3rd season)

Illinois Fighting Illini: Bret Bielema (5th season)