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Best Prop Bets for Nebraska vs. Illinois State in College Football Week 6

How to attack the player prop market in this Big Ten showdown

By Reed Wallach

Sep 23, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Anthony Grant (23) and
Sep 23, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Anthony Grant (23) and / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
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Two teams desperate for a Big Ten win in a West division that is fairly open meet on Friday night.

Illinois has taken a serious step back after a strong campaign in 2022 while Nebraska is in a rebuild under first-year head coach Matt Rhule. The Fighting Illini defense has regressed heavily, is that opening up player prop value on the Nebraska ground game?

You can read our full betting breakdown here, but this article is going to focus on player props. If you want to bet this weekend on college football, I recommend doing it at Caesars Sportsbook, which is giving new users a no-sweat first bet up to $1,000 upon signing up! Click below to register.

Best Prop Bets for Nebraska vs. Illinois in Week 6

  • Anthony Grant OVER 61.5 Rushing Yards
  • Luke Altmyer UNDER 186.5 Passing Yards
  • Luke Altmyer UNDER 22.5 Rushing Yards

Anthony Grant OVER 61.5 Rushing Yards

We are getting a great number on the No. 1 back for the Cornhuskers.

First, this is a run-first offense. Since making the move to Heinrich Haarberg, the Cornhuskers have made a serious commitment to keeping the ball on the ground and playing bully ball. The team is averaging more than five yards per carry, top 20 in the country.

Grant was named the top RB against Louisiana Tech and rushed 22 times for 135 yards, but in an obvious negative game script against Michigan, he only had six rushes for 16 yards. This game will not be like the Michigan game and Nebraska will be able to operate in a neutral game state.

Grant will go up against an Illinois defense that is bottom 10 in defensive line yards and 104th in yards per carry allowed, setting up a favorable matchup for him to put up nearly 100 yards again.

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Luke Altmyer UNDER 186.5 Passing Yards

Illinois has gotten away from its roots this season, passing in the top 50 percentile this season after being a ground-heavy offense in 2022. While Altmyer is an upgrade from last season, he has struggled this season, averaging 215.2 passing yards per game this season.

I believe that Illinois will look to keep this game on the ground and try to get back to its roots after struggling through the air in Big 10 play. This is a Cornhuskers secondary that is top 30 in yards per pass attempt allowed and is 31st in explosive pass defense.

Illinois needs a reset on offense as the team has sputtered, I believe that it will change its tune on Friday night and look to get back to a ground-and-pound style with running back Reggie Love reportedly healthier this week.

Luke Altmyer UNDER 22.5 Rushing Yards

While Altmyer started the season rushing for 69 and 70 yards in the first two games of the year, that number has dwindled to 6, 1, and 29 over the last three weeks.

Altmyer was limping around against Purdue in a disheartening 44-19 loss and struggled to gain any traction on the ground after rushing for 39 yards on the first play of the game. I believe that with a rush-heavy approach that's going to feature Altmyer being protected as well after being sacked six times.

Illinois offensive line has been a serious issue in 2023, allowing 20 sacks through five games, and a few negative yardage plays for Altmyer can ruin any shot of him getting over this number.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Track Reed's bets here!

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