Week 8 showed us that two unranked teams can defeat the favorites. The Louisville Cardinals pulled off a stunning 24-21 upset against No. 2 Miami. Similarly, the unranked Arizona State Sun Devils won 26-23 over Big 12 rival and seventh-ranked Texas Tech. Week 9 also presents an important Big 10 clash. Although Joel Klatt selected a ranked team, that team is still an underdog.

The Illinois travels to Washington as both teams are at 5-2, and are looking for an important win next Saturday. #23 Fighting Illini are not the favorites, as home team Huskies are the bookmakers’ favorite. But Fox’s Klatt is not picking the home team. “I’ve got to take Illinois in the 4.5,” he said in an October 23 episode of his show. ESPN predicted Washington has a 61.6% chance. While the USA TODAY Sports projected the Huskies to get a 3-point win over the Fighting Illinois. But why is the Fox analyst siding with the away team?

During the segment, he answered the question. “I haven’t loved how Washington has played the last few weeks, in particular in the first half. The offense is sputtered again, the blueprint is kind of out there, keep Demond Williams in the pocket, play zone coverage.” The Washington QB is the 4th-best passer in the Big 10. There’s no doubt that he will use his dual-threat skills against an underdog defense. But there is one problem with the 19-year-old QB that Bret Bielema can exploit.

As Klatt pointed out, choking Williams in the pocket. That, and limiting his running lanes, has proved to be the formula that’s worked for Ohio State and Michigan. He brought in negative rushing yards in both games, along with turnovers. The Michigan outing was so bad that Williams looked unlike himself in that game. Also worth keeping a watch for is Jonah Coleman, who is the other headliner of the rushing attack alongside Williams.

The Illini rank 51 in the country in rushing defense, having given up 917 yards and 4 yards per rush. However, Washington also struggled with rushing in the two losses, averaging just 50.5 yards. Both Williams and Coleman will be targets for the Illinois run defense. It has proven to hold up fairly, except for the brutal upset by USC. Apart from this

Washington starting LT Carver Willis has been out with an injury for the last three games. Starting left guard John Mills has been out for the past two. Even backup left tackle Maximus McCree also took a blow in the Washington game. This is a huge opportunity for the Illinois defense to break through to get to Demond Williams Jr.

More factors favoring the Fighting Illini

If 10-2 at least gets you in the playoff discussion, then the loser of this is effectively out with a third loss. Under Bret Bielema, the team has never lost a game coming after a bye week. If they beat this Washington team, and the only two losses of the season are against the top two-ranked teams in the country (Indiana and Ohio State). On the other hand, the Huskies still have to face UCLA and Oregon. So, the pressure is on. And who can sign for the away team?

Luke Altmyer can launch a decent passing attack against a Top-40 Washington defense. But it won’t be easy, since the home defense is powerful. That’s why the Fighting Illini defense has to step up. Illinois has some weapons that the Huskies will take note of. Star LB Gabe Jacas leads the defense in sacks (4.5) and has been a constant problem for opponent QBs. There’s also LB Dylan Rosiek, who has been really good for Illinois. Moreover, Washington will deploy a banged-up O-line, which has to be taken advantage of by the defense.

Bret Bielema is looking for a desperate win, and so is Jedd Fisch. Because the road ahead opens up more room for the winner. It’ll be a big test for the Illini at Husky Stadium, that too against a passionate crowd. But that doesn’t mean they can’t cause some ruckus themselves, entering as one of the Top 25 squads of the country. So will you back the away team, Illinois, like Joel Klatt, or pick the bookmaker’s favorite in Washington?