An old rivalry will be renewed as the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Missouri Tigers meet in St. Louis to bring the border city its first regular season Division I-A game since 1970. The Edward Jones Dome, home of the St. Louis Rams, will serve as the host site for the battle which dates back to 1896 and will continue next year. As far as expectations for this game, the Fighting Illini can only hope they pick up where they left off last season. Though they lost to LSU in the Sugar Bowl, it was the first BCS game ever for the Illini, who also won its first outright Big Ten title since 1983. Over in the Big 12, Missouri struggled to a 4-7 record but have high hopes for this year.
The biggest concern for Illinois is how to replace Kurt Kittner at the quarterback position. Special "K" thrived in coach Ron Turner's pro-style offense, and the hope for Illini fans is that Dustin Ward can avoid big mistakes and make some big plays of his own. The Illini's excellent receiving corps and sound running game will help ease the transition of the new QB. The defense will certainly have their share of highlights as Illinois returns 7 starters on that side of the field from a stop unit that recorded a team-record 40 sacks and stuffed the run.
Missouri actually played quite respectably on offense in 2001, but we expect them to have a tough going of it against the Illinois "D". The Tigers do boast having one of the Big 12's top pass catchers in Justin Gage, but had a hard time finding him open last year against quality opponents. Tigers QB Kirk Farmer will be running for his life behind a young, patchwork line trying to hold off the Illinois defensive onslaught. The Mizzou defense should be vulnerable as they gave up more than 30 ppg last season, so we see the Illini having offensive success as well.
Many are underestimating the Illini and think they will take a step back this year after losing Kittner. We understand this has been the source of off-season motivation for the remaining players and coaching staff, as they are very disappointed in the lack of respect. While it may take a few games for the offense to get into high gear, the defense will carry this team. They came on strong last season and we expect it to get even better this year. The players are now very familiar with what second-year defensive coordinator Mike Cassity wants to do. At times a year ago, the Illini struggled with the new defensive system. Now with a full year under their belts, they are ready to go. Illinois usually gets off to a fast start as they are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 road openers. As favorite of less than 10 points they are a stellar 6-1 ATS, and an impressive 5-1 ATS as a road favorite.
Meanwhile, Missouri is 1-6 ATS as an underdog of less than 21 pts in their first away game and 0-5 SU in nationally televised games. This does not bode well for them spread-wise, either, as they are 2-10 ATS in their last dozen losses.
FINAL SCORE: ILLINOIS 34 MISSOURI 17