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ESPN’s FPI projects who will take home the Land of Lincoln Trophy
By Michael Daly
Published:
ESPN’s FPI predicted the outcome of Saturday’s Illinois-Northwestern matchup.
The FPI gave Illinois an 81.7% to take down Northwestern and claim the Land of Lincoln Trophy in Week 13. Northwestern received an 18.3% chance to pull off the upset over the Fighting Illini.
Illinois heads into this rivalry game with a 7-4 record. In Week 12, Illinois nearly spoiled Michigan’s College Football Playoff hopes in a 19-17 loss for the Illini. Michigan closed out the game and took a late lead to win the game in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Illinois running back Chase Brown carried the offense with 2 rushing touchdowns and 140 rushing yards against the Wolverines. Quarterback Tommy DeVito passed for 178 yards and he completed 21 of 30 attempted passes.
For Northwestern, this has been a taxing season. The Wildcats enter the final regular season game with a 1-10 record. Northwestern’s lone win on the season came against Nebraska in Ireland on Aug. 27. Northwestern followed that with 10 losses in a row.
Last week, Northwestern fell to Purdue in a 17-9 road loss. Quarterback Cole Freeman made his first-career start and passed for 78 yards. He completed 9 of 20 passes and threw 1 interception. If Northwestern wants to pull off a win, the offense will need to match Illinois.
Northwestern will host Illinois on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.