Saturday's Best Bets: Add This College Football Week 2 Parlay
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Virginia Cavaliers
Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 11 a.m. ET at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia
Virginia's Lookahead Spot & Illinois' Chip
Betting-wise, Virginia is in a notoriously difficult spot called the lookahead spot.
It will be hard for Virginia to be excited and to prepare well for this game because it knows that ranked ACC foe North Carolina is on deck.
Under Bronco Mendenhall, the Hoos have a history of struggling in this situation.
There are a couple of exceptions, such as Duke. For reasons irrelevant to this article, Mendenhall's Cavaliers thrive against Duke no matter the situation.
But there are numerous instances that confirm the rule. In 2020, for example, UVA got blown out at Wake Forest with ranked Miami on deck.
In 2019, with highly-ranked Notre Dame the next opponent, Virginia survived a heart-wrenching scare against Old Dominion.
In 2018, Virginia lost by two touchdowns at NC State when ranked Miami was the next opponent. The examples continue.
Meanwhile, Illinois just lost to an FCS school. It doesn't matter what the College Football Odds were. The point is that it is embarrassing for an FBS school to lose to an FCS one, especially when Illinois had probably developed a somewhat stronger self-perception after beating Nebraska in the season opener.
Illinois' Offensive Line and Running Backs
One positive feature for Illinois this season will be its offensive line, which returned a combined total of 123 starts this season. The youngest member of this unit is a redshirt junior. Everyone else is a senior or graduate transfer.
Returning experience is meaningful to an offensive line because the quality of an offensive line hinges to a degree on its chemistry and collective experience.
Behind these blockers, the running back group for Illinois is deep with Mike Epstein, who was an All-Big Ten honorable mention last year. Despite his accolades, he has been passed on the depth chart by Jakari Norwood, the former track star known for his speed.
Virginia Linebackers
The linebacker position, a famous source of stability in recent Virginia defenses, is a question mark this season after two more linebackers departed to pursue NFL ambitions. Those two linebackers are Charles Snowden and Zane Zandier.
The linebackers are pivotal for the entire Virginia defense as Mendenhall's defense, given the formations that he likes to employ, asks rather a lot of out of its linebackers.
Illinois Tight Ends vs. Virginia Linebackers
In addition to run defense, a worrisome question mark for Virginia's linebackers is pass coverage.
One reason why Snowden in particular merits optimism toward his NFL career was and is his ability to stick with tight ends in man coverage in space.
While Nick Jackson has received praise for his ability to cover in space, he is also asked to defend the run, blitz, and do other things. He'll miss Snowden as a partner in the front seven.
Snowden's departure opens up opportunities for opposing tight ends, which form a favored group under Bret Bielema.
Bielema characteristically loves his tight ends and can count on his current group. The most notable tight end is Daniel Barker, who was named PFF Preseason All-Big Ten third-teamer for his proven abilities in recent seasons.
Luke Ford, when he isn't blocking, is also someone with meaningful potential as a result of his hands and size at 6-6.
Simply stated, Illinois has more pass-catching options at tight end than Virginia's defense is equipped to handle.
Virginia's Offense vs. Illinois Defense
Brennan Armstrong is Virginia's mobile quarterback who is one year removed from being in his first season as Bryce Perkins' replacement.
Those were difficult shoes to fill and he was always going to be judged unfairly by Virginia folks clinging to their memories of Perkins.
But any way you look at it, Armstrong typically shows considerable difficulties with accuracy. Last year, he didn't even manage to complete 59 percent of his throws.
He is, however, a solid runner. He led UVA in rushing yards last year.
As the Illini season opener showed when Adrian Martinez once again gashed them for over 100 rushing yards, the Illini run defense continues to be vulnerable against running quarterbacks.
The Cavalier offense will be held back by Lavel Davis' injury and Armstrong's inaccuracy. But the big running plays from Armstrong, the superb experience on UVA's offensive line, Illinois' somewhat shuffled linebacking group minus Milo Eifler, the playmaking ability of last year's leading Hoo receiver Billy Kemp plus UVA's decorated transfer at tight end Jelani Woods will help the Cavs score enough points for the "over."
The Verdict
Virginia's lookahead spot, regression at the linebacker position, and the passing woes of Armstrong will ensure that Illinois covers the spread.
Illinois is well-equipped especially at tight end and its scoring endeavor is further promoted by its proven ability at running back and offensive line play and by sufficient experience at quarterback. For UVA, Armstrong will reel off some big runs and Kemp will come up with some big plays.
All of this points to a high-scoring game where neither team reliably stops the other, while Armstrong's frustrating accuracy helps keep the Virginia offense from running away with the game.
Best Bet: Parlay Illinois +10 at -108 & Over 55 at -108 at +271 odds with Heritage
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Virginia Cavaliers
Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 11 a.m. ET at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia
Virginia's Lookahead Spot & Illinois' Chip
Betting-wise, Virginia is in a notoriously difficult spot called the lookahead spot.
It will be hard for Virginia to be excited and to prepare well for this game because it knows that ranked ACC foe North Carolina is on deck.
Under Bronco Mendenhall, the Hoos have a history of struggling in this situation.
There are a couple of exceptions, such as Duke. For reasons irrelevant to this article, Mendenhall's Cavaliers thrive against Duke no matter the situation.
But there are numerous instances that confirm the rule. In 2020, for example, UVA got blown out at Wake Forest with ranked Miami on deck.
In 2019, with highly-ranked Notre Dame the next opponent, Virginia survived a heart-wrenching scare against Old Dominion.
In 2018, Virginia lost by two touchdowns at NC State when ranked Miami was the next opponent. The examples continue.
Meanwhile, Illinois just lost to an FCS school. It doesn't matter what the College Football Odds were. The point is that it is embarrassing for an FBS school to lose to an FCS one, especially when Illinois had probably developed a somewhat stronger self-perception after beating Nebraska in the season opener.
Illinois' Offensive Line and Running Backs
One positive feature for Illinois this season will be its offensive line, which returned a combined total of 123 starts this season. The youngest member of this unit is a redshirt junior. Everyone else is a senior or graduate transfer.
Returning experience is meaningful to an offensive line because the quality of an offensive line hinges to a degree on its chemistry and collective experience.
Behind these blockers, the running back group for Illinois is deep with Mike Epstein, who was an All-Big Ten honorable mention last year. Despite his accolades, he has been passed on the depth chart by Jakari Norwood, the former track star known for his speed.
Virginia Linebackers
The linebacker position, a famous source of stability in recent Virginia defenses, is a question mark this season after two more linebackers departed to pursue NFL ambitions. Those two linebackers are Charles Snowden and Zane Zandier.
The linebackers are pivotal for the entire Virginia defense as Mendenhall's defense, given the formations that he likes to employ, asks rather a lot of out of its linebackers.
Illinois Tight Ends vs. Virginia Linebackers
In addition to run defense, a worrisome question mark for Virginia's linebackers is pass coverage.
One reason why Snowden in particular merits optimism toward his NFL career was and is his ability to stick with tight ends in man coverage in space.
While Nick Jackson has received praise for his ability to cover in space, he is also asked to defend the run, blitz, and do other things. He'll miss Snowden as a partner in the front seven.
Snowden's departure opens up opportunities for opposing tight ends, which form a favored group under Bret Bielema.
Bielema characteristically loves his tight ends and can count on his current group. The most notable tight end is Daniel Barker, who was named PFF Preseason All-Big Ten third-teamer for his proven abilities in recent seasons.
Luke Ford, when he isn't blocking, is also someone with meaningful potential as a result of his hands and size at 6-6.
Simply stated, Illinois has more pass-catching options at tight end than Virginia's defense is equipped to handle.
Virginia's Offense vs. Illinois Defense
Brennan Armstrong is Virginia's mobile quarterback who is one year removed from being in his first season as Bryce Perkins' replacement.
Those were difficult shoes to fill and he was always going to be judged unfairly by Virginia folks clinging to their memories of Perkins.
But any way you look at it, Armstrong typically shows considerable difficulties with accuracy. Last year, he didn't even manage to complete 59 percent of his throws.
He is, however, a solid runner. He led UVA in rushing yards last year.
As the Illini season opener showed when Adrian Martinez once again gashed them for over 100 rushing yards, the Illini run defense continues to be vulnerable against running quarterbacks.
The Cavalier offense will be held back by Lavel Davis' injury and Armstrong's inaccuracy. But the big running plays from Armstrong, the superb experience on UVA's offensive line, Illinois' somewhat shuffled linebacking group minus Milo Eifler, the playmaking ability of last year's leading Hoo receiver Billy Kemp plus UVA's decorated transfer at tight end Jelani Woods will help the Cavs score enough points for the "over."
The Verdict
Virginia's lookahead spot, regression at the linebacker position, and the passing woes of Armstrong will ensure that Illinois covers the spread.
Illinois is well-equipped especially at tight end and its scoring endeavor is further promoted by its proven ability at running back and offensive line play and by sufficient experience at quarterback. For UVA, Armstrong will reel off some big runs and Kemp will come up with some big plays.
All of this points to a high-scoring game where neither team reliably stops the other, while Armstrong's frustrating accuracy helps keep the Virginia offense from running away with the game.
Best Bet: Parlay Illinois +10 at -108 & Over 55 at -108 at +271 odds with Heritage
