From the booth

The model favored ILL to win, and the call landed.

Illinois is sitting pretty at ninety-five percent to win this one, and honestly, the market's locked in on the Illini here. Vegas has them as nearly a four-touchdown favorite, and that's backed up by the betting markets which are also favoring the home team. UAB's got a slight edge in offensive efficiency over their last five games, but that's not nearly enough to overcome Illinois' home-field advantage and overall defensive strength.