Illinois brings four-game win streak west to face unbeaten No. 8 UCLA

Illinois has won four in a row and climbed back into the Big Ten title race. Now it has to win at the Rose Bowl on Friday night against UCLA, the conference's last unbeaten team. The Illini (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) beat Nebraska 24-13 last weekend. According to Illinois Fighting Illini On SI, Katin Houser threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns in that win, and Collin Dixon caught passes for 129 yards and two scores.

UCLA is 9-0 for the first time since 1998. ESPN reported that the Bruins went 3-9 a year ago, and first-year coach Bob Chesney, who came over from James Madison, has matched the largest one-season turnaround in program history. The Bruins started eighth in the first College Football Playoff ranking. They won 34-20 at Minnesota on Saturday after Ty Dieffenbach hit Aidan Mizell for two 75-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Dieffenbach became the starter about a month ago after Nico Iamaleava hurt his knee. He threw for a career-high 303 yards on only eight completions, though he also had an interception and lost a fumble.

The Bruins win mostly with defense. The On SI preview says UCLA allows 14.1 points and 264.7 yards per game and leads the nation with 27 takeaways, 17 of them interceptions. On offense, Wayne Knight runs behind a line that has helped him average 6.2 yards per carry. He ran for 109 yards and his 15th touchdown of the season against Minnesota, ESPN reported.

What it means for Friday

Illinois and UCLA have four opponents in common this season, and the Bruins did better against all four. UCLA beat Maryland 54-3 on the road, while Illinois won there 20-17. UCLA held off Oregon 17-15 in Eugene, and Illinois beat the Ducks 21-10 at home. UCLA handled Michigan State 28-10 at home, while Illinois needed a 38-37 win in East Lansing. Against Purdue, UCLA won 52-38 and Illinois lost 24-17 at home.

Illinois has been stronger on defense lately. The Illini have allowed 13.3 points per game over their last three games, all wins over Big Ten opponents. Its two blowout losses were at Ohio State and against Duke at home, and both came before the winning streak. UCLA has given up 20 points or fewer in each of its last six games.

The board has UCLA favored by 9.5 points across 12 venues. Novig lists the Bruins at -115 on that number and Illinois at +108 at +9.5. BetRivers offers the widest number, with Illinois at +11 at -115. BetMGM has the best price on UCLA at -9.5, at -112. Straight up, UCLA is favored at -335 on Novig. Illinois is +317 there and +320 at bet365, the best price anywhere. Novig sets the total at 48.5, and Hard Rock Bet is a point lower at 47.5. Sportsbook hold on the spread runs from 3.8% to 6.8%, so the venues differ more on that market than on the moneyline.

The preview also notes that Illinois was routed at Oregon in 2024 and lost at Washington last season. A win in Pasadena would be the program's biggest result of the year.