Two Big 10 teams head to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field Saturday, as Northwestern and Illinois will finish off their respective regular seasons.

By and large, Illinois's 2024 campaign has been pretty successful. The Illini can get to 9-3 with a win this weekend, and two of their three losses came to likely playoff teams (Oregon and Penn State). Quarterback Luke Altmyer has taken great care of the ball, throwing 20 touchdowns against just three interceptions (two of which came against Oregon). Illinois isn't flashy, but they're solid across the board with very few glaring weaknesses.

Northwestern, meanwhile, is reeling. The Wildcats were pasted by both Ohio State and Michigan the past two weeks, and their lone win in the last five games came against Purdue, a team winless in Big 10 play. They're "finishing out the string," so to speak, and I'm a bit surprised this spread isn't bigger.

For that reason, give me the Illini, even giving away 7.5 points (a number I don't love). I think they should win this one comfortably en route to a berth in a solid bowl game.