For better and for worse, the Illini have largely played to the level of their opponents this season. We saw the highs of Illinois beating two ranked teams on the road in fairly convincing fashion, but we’ve also seen the lows of narrow home losses to mediocre teams like Maryland and Rutgers. I see this game as more of the latter, compounded by the recent trend of Northwestern routinely defeating the Illini no matter what either team had done earlier in the season. I want so badly to be wrong here, but after the season Illinois has had, I find it hard to believe that this team will be able to pull out this win and secure the Hat.
TCR Staff Predictions: Illinois vs. Northwestern
