Minnesota vs. Illinois odds, spread, lines: Week 7 college football picks, predictions by computer model

Picks and predictions for Minnesota vs. Illinois on the Week 7 college football schedule out of the Big Ten

A pair of Big Ten West rivals meet up, one unexpectedly ranked and one unexpectedly not, as Minnesota and Illinois square off in college football's Week 7 action on Saturday.

Minnesota comes in at 4-1 and off its idle week after falling out of the polls, while Illinois ended its long, long streak of being kept out after winning four straight games.

What do the experts think of the matchup? Let's see how the College Football Power Index computer prediction model projects the game.

Minnesota vs. Illinois picks, predictions

Week 7 college football picks: Minnesota vs. Illinois

The computer is going with the road team this week, as Minnesota has the 62.8 percent chance to defeat Illinois on Saturday.

Despite its recent success, the Illini have just the 37.2 percent chance to defend its home ground and take down the Gophers.

The oddsmakers are also favoring the visitors, but by a closer margin, as Minnesota comes in the 3.5 point favorites, according to the lines at SI Sportsbook, which a consensus over/mark of 39 points for the matchup.

Minnesota comes in at No. 19 on the index's 131 college football rankings off the bye week and is projected to win 9.0 games on the season.

The computer projects Minnesota will be 12.9 points better on average than the teams on its schedule, ahead of Illinois' projection of 6.4 points per game.

Illinois owns the No. 38 national ranking on the FPI table for that reason, and is projected to win 8.1 games on the season.

Minnesota has the 24.6 percent chance to win the Big Ten West division, compared to a 18.7 percent shot for the Illini.

College Football Power Index

Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.

Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season, using a combination of analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, and a team’s schedule.

College football rankings

According to AP top 25 poll

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Clemson
5. Michigan
6. Tennessee
7. USC
8. Oklahoma State
9. Ole Miss
10. Penn State
11. UCLA
12. Oregon
13. TCU
14. Wake Forest
15. NC State
16. Mississippi State
17. Kansas State
18. Syracuse
19. Kansas
20. Utah
21. Cincinnati
T-22. Kentucky
T-22. Texas
24. Illinois
25. James Madison

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