Kansas is coming off their most successful campaign since the halcyon days of the Mark Mangino era. New Head Coach Lance Leipold has the advantage of QB Jalon Daniels returning from a season-ending back injury alongside All Big-12 running back Devin Neal. The Jayhawks bring in new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes from Baylor to replace the departed Andy Kotelnicki. Grimes will be tasked with maintaining the lofty 35 points and 446 total yards per game standard KU achieved last season.
Illinois is led by offensive line guru head coach Brett Bielema and QB Luke Altmyer who piloted Illinois to a commendable 45% passing success rate, which ranked 23rd nationally. Though the Illini only ran for 126 yards per game in 2023, the offensive line returns three starters and running back Kaden Feagin who at 6’3/250 is a prototypical power back fit for HC Bielema’s scheme. Defensively, Illinois does a good job avoiding big plays, but need to generate more pressure up front, ranking 125th in defensive line havoc rate.
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Game details and how to watch Illinois vs. Kansas Saturday
- Date: Saturday, September 7th, 2024
- Time: 7PM EST
- Site: Memorial Stadium
- City: Champaign, IL
- TV/Streaming: FS1
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Game odds for Illinois vs. Kansas
The latest odds as of Friday morning:
- Moneyline: Kansas -210, Illinois +170
- Spread: Kansas -5.5 (-110)
- Total: 57.5 points
*odds courtesy of BetMGM
Kansas is favored by -3 points in the first half market, with a Total of 28.5 points and -165 1H money line.
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Eric Froton (@CFFroton) is happy Jalon Daniels is back under center for the Jayhawks.
“When Kansas and Illinois faced off last year, Jalon Daniels completed 21-of-29 passes for 277 yards and a 2-to-1 ratio. Kansas returns all three starting wideouts while Illinois\ pass defense allowed a 45% passing success rate (118th). I’m taking Jalon Daniels’ Over 196.5 Passing Yards prop.”
Names to know for Kansas vs. Illinois
- Kansas: QB Jalon Daniels returns from a back injury that cut short his 2023 season to pilot new OC Jeff Grimes’ pass-oriented offense. The fifth-year team captain is a former 2022 Second Team All-Big 12 performer who completed 68% of his passes from 2021-2023 and has accounted for 5,042 total yards during his Kansas tenure. The dual-threat signal caller also ran for 419 yards and seven touchdowns over just nine games in 2022, giving you a glimpse of what Daniels is capable of when healthy.
- Illinois: Former four-star Ole Miss QB commit Luke Altmyer was quietly a very effective and versatile Big Ten quarterback who completed 65% of his passes for 1,883 yards and 13 touchdowns through the air. He also chipped in with 282 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in just nine games, so this matchup should feature two quarterbacks who can take it to the house in multiple ways. Interestingly, despite HC Brett Bielema’s run-heavy, trench-warfare reputation, Illinois actually ranked 108th out of 134 FBS programs in standard downs run rate.
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of the Jayhawks vs. Fighting Illini
- Illinois has to do a better job protecting QB Altmyer, as the offensive line allowed a troubling 8.3% sack rate (113th in FBS) and 40% pressure rate (108th)
- In addition to averaging a very respectable 3.24 yards after contact, Illinois RB Kaden Feagin also caught 9 of his 10 targets last season for 116 yards.
- One of the most big-play oriented offenses in the country, Kansas ranked top-10 nationally in both IsoPPP and Marginal Explosiveness. Defensively, KU was not so effective on a down-to-down basis ranking 104th with a 44.5% success rate allowed last year.
- Though Kansas ranked top-15 nationally in run rate, their passing offense was very effective when called upon, ranking 10th in passing success rate and 11th with an average of 8.3 yards per dropback.
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