Nebraska vs. Illinois betting preview: Odds picks, start time, spread for Friday college football Week 10

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The Cornhuskers will try and get back on track when they visit the Fighting Illini on Friday

Nov 6, 2026 at 12:02 pm ET • 2 min read

The Nebraska Cornhuskers appeared to be heading to a 6-2 record, but a late collapse pushed them to 5-3. They have another tough test this Friday with a visit to Illinois on tap. The Fighting Illini are also 5-3, but are 3-2 in Big Ten play while riding a three-game winning streak. The Cornhuskers are 4.5-point road favorites in the latest Nebraska vs. Illinois odds at DraftKings Sportsbook, and the Over/Under for points scored is down to 49.5. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Bet on college football at DraftKings and get $200 in bonuses and three free months of NBA League Pass when you spend $5+:

We're breaking down the latest Nebraska vs. Illinois odds from DraftKings Sportsbook and highlighting our best bet for this Big Ten matchup with help from the SportsLine Projection Model. The model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. It entered Week 10 with an 80-77 record on all top-rated college football picks at betting sites this season.  Anybody following its picks on college football betting sites could have seen strong returns. 

Nebraska vs. Illinois betting odds (via DraftKings)

Nebraska vs. Illinois money line:	Nebraska -198, Illinois +164
Nebraska vs. Illinois Over/Under:	50.5 (Over -105, Under -115)
Nebraska vs. Illinois spread:	Nebraska -4.5

Nebraska vs. Illinois betting preview

The Cornhuskers are 5-3 after a 3-0 start, and they're this close to being 8-0. They fell 20-17 to Indiana in a game they controlled into the fourth quarter before losing 17-14 late to Oregon the following week. And after a bye, Nebraska lost 17-10 to Washington, giving up two touchdowns in less than 30 seconds with under two minutes remaining. The defense has been excellent this year, but the offense has not been up to task in recent weeks. Anthony Colandrea is an elite dual-threat quarterback, but that hasn't translated to enough points of late. 

Illinois shook off losses to Ohio State and Purdue with three straight wins, knocking off Michigan State, Oregon and Maryland. The win over MSU needed overtime to get the job done, and the Fighting Illini won just 20-17 over a lackluster Maryland squad that is playing under an interim head coach. 

Nebraska is 6-2 against the spread and Illinois is 4-4. The Illini have leaned to the Over at 5-3, and the Cornhuskers are 4-4 to the Over this season. Get $250 in bonus bets via bet resets with the Caesars Sportsbook promo code CBSSPORTSBR250:

Nebraska vs. Illinois picks, prediction

Over 50.5

Despite recent trends, the SportsLine model likes the Over on the Over/Under betting line of 50.5. Nebraska is 45th in scoring offense and is 14th in scoring defense out of 138 FBS teams, and Illinois is 65th and 66th, respectively. These teams have not played particularly well offensively in recent weeks, but the model has the Over cashing in 60% of simulations while projecting 53 total points in this one.