Illinois vs Duke Prediction: Which Team is Ready To Take the Next Step Forward?

Illinois vs Duke: How To Watch

Date: Saturday, September 6, 2025
Game Time: 12:00 PM ET
TV: ESPN
Location: Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, NC
@PeteFiutak

Illinois Has to Slow The Duke Passing Game

The Blue Devils had a few good quarterbacks over the last few seasons, and they made a huge splash by taking Darian Mensah from Tulane through the transfer portal. And now the Illinois defense has to bother him.

The offensive line is good enough to bash away against the Blue Devil run defense, but the Illini D has to do its part by getting to Mensah and not letting him get comfortable. He can move, but let him get into a rhythm, and there’s a problem.

Duke’s line was amazing in pass protection last year, but didn’t do much for the ground game. It won’t generate a push against the Illini front that looked in midseason form in the 52-3 win over Western Illinois. However …

Duke Has a Passing Game

It’s not like it was horrible last year with now-Oregon State Beaver Maalik Murphy under center, but he didn’t have the veteran weapons Mensah has.

Not only did the Blue Devils already have a few nice parts, but getting Andrel Anthony from Oklahoma and Cooper Barkate from Harvard - the latter led the team with 117 yards in the 45-17 win over Elon.

Both defenses will take center stage, but if Luke Altmyer and the Illinois passing attack start to open it up, Duke will keep up. However …

The Illinois Defense Will Be A Wee Bit Better

The Illini secondary is loaded. It’s hard to stand out in a Big Ten full of great defensive backs, but Illinois has one of the best safety tandems in the country in Xavier Scott and Miles Scott.

Both teams are about equal, but Illinois has the better pub and national profile. That might change after this in a great fight, but the Illini will get past a frustrating first half to grind out a good final quarter with one big takeaway leading to the game-winning score.

Illinois vs Duke Prediction, Betting Lines

Illinois 27, Duke 23
Line: Illinois -3, o/u: 49.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Must See Rating: 3.5

- CFN Week 2 Rankings | Bowl Projections
- Predicting Every Game For the 2025 Season
- Hot Seat Coaches | Grading the New QBs

Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.