Illinois at Washington

It is time to get real about Washington after the Huskies were thumped, 24-7, as four-point road underdogs by Michigan last Saturday. There is no Heisman Trophy talk about quarterback Desmond Williams Jr., and the Huskies are not a Top-25 team. Illinois, however, is ranked 23rd in both the AP Top 25 and USA Today/Coaches polls. The Illini have won and covered in five of their seven games. Their two losses and non-covers came to the top two teams in the nation, Ohio State and Indiana. Washington couldn't beat Ohio State either. Illinois has played a more challenging schedule than Washington and was idle last week while the Huskies suffered that deflating loss to Michigan. Among Illinois' high marks are a blowout win over Duke and an upset over USC. Luke Altmyer is one of the better quarterbacks in the Big Ten. He has a 13-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Every other starting quarterback in the Big Ten has thrown more than one interception. Altmyer can exploit a Washington secondary that ranks 89th in pass defense. The Illini are 14-5-1 (74 percent) ATS since the start of last season. Take Illinois.