2023 Illinois Fighting Illini win total betting strategy: Bret Bielema's hard-nosed team looks dangerous again

Now that Wisconsin isn't, well, Wisconsin any longer (check out our forthcoming Badgers preview for more info), the new "Wisconsin" in the Big Ten is probably located in Champaign-Urbana. That's because Illinois head coach Bret Bielema has Madison/Barry Alvarez roots, serving for several years as the Badgers coach, employing the same bruising, physical style of football as professed by his mentor. As Bielema's career has moved to different locales, the old Alvarez style of football has followed him, from Wisconsin to the SEC and Arkansas and now back to the Big Ten, where it has not taken Bielema long to get the Fighting Illini in gear. He's picked up the pieces from the crash and burn at the end of the deposed Lovie Smith regime...

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of Illinois' 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the Big Ten season.

Big Ten preview: Conference winner | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Maryland | Michigan | Michigan State | Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern | Ohio State | Penn State | Purdue | Rutgers | Wisconsin

2023 Illinois at a glance

• Last Year: 8-5 SU, 8-5 ATS, 4-8-1 O/U
  
• Returning Starters: Offense 6; Defense 6
• Win Total: 6.5 (Over -120, Under -115)
  

What do you need to know about Illinois before locking in your Big Ten futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Big Ten futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!