Illinois at Oregon might not be so ducky for Illini

Illinois football’s PR machine has worn out every opportunity to hype the team’s Top 25 wins this season, and why not? The Illini (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) have three of them, something only one other team in the nation, Tennessee, could say entering Week 9.

On the other hand, Kansas, Nebraska and Michigan don’t exactly make for the fanciest feathers in the helmet. Only one of those teams, Nebraska, received a Top 25 vote this week, and the Huskers getting the one they did after a 56-7 loss to Indiana was laughable.

No. 20 Illinois (+21½) at No. 1 Oregon (2:30 p.m., CBS 2, 890-AM) will do more to inform how the Illini are viewed than those other games did. Is that the bad news or the good news?

“All we did was put ourselves in a position to make this game bigger,” coach Bret Bielema said.

Oh, it’s bigger. And scarier. And definitely farther, the Illini’s first Big Ten trip to the West Coast. So far this season, teams traveling to or from the Pacific time zone for games within the conference are 5-11. That includes then-No. 2 Ohio State’s 32-31 loss in Eugene, Ore., two weeks ago.

But the Ducks (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) seemingly would have most of the same advantages over the Illini at home, on the road or anywhere. They have a leading Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback in Dillon Gabriel, an embarrassment of NFL prospects all over the field and — the result of a recent evolution in Ducks country — legit Big Ten size on both the offensive and defensive fronts. It’s not a finesse team, not even close.

The Illini approached their game against Michigan’s powerhouse defensive line by throwing the ball sparingly. But the key to that 21-7 Illini win was a three-turnover edge against the Wolverines, and the thought of creating such good fortune a week later — against a far better foe — might be an impossible dream.

And we haven’t even mentioned the atmosphere at Autzen Stadium, which never misses. This is on the short list of the toughest places to play in college football. It will be a daunting, deafening, fanatical scene.

“It’s not only going to be a loud crowd, it’s going to be a very active crowd,” Bielema said. “They’re on top of you. It’s a bowl that really sits really on top of you. They’ve got a duck on a bike and they’ve got all kinds of stuff going on.”

It’s a mascot on a motorcycle, just to be clear. No. 1 doesn’t mess around. Ducks, 34-16.

OTHER WEEK 9 PICKS

All games are Saturday.

No. 12 Notre Dame (-13½) vs. No. 24 Navy (11 a.m., ABC 7, 780-AM): Has trouble arrived for the Fighting Irish (6-1)? Because there can be no overlooking the Midshipmen, who’ve been watertight in winning their six games by a total of 141 points — albeit against nothing-to-see-here competition.

At MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Middies QB Blake Horvath will be under the microscope. He has rushed for 621 yards and 10 touchdowns for an offense that averages 275 yards on the ground, which sounds like an old, familiar service-academy-football story. But Horvath throws it quite well, too — for 888 yards and 10 TDs so far — an ingredient not often baked into these annual rivalry meetings. With Horvath in full command, the Middies have scored 22 TDs in 23 red-zone trips.

“Mistakes get magnified when you play an offense of this caliber,” Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden said.

But is this simply a physical mismatch in favor of the Irish, who’ve won six straight in the series? That’s always the question until one of these games starts going sideways. Irish, 31-21.

Northwestern (+14½) at Iowa (2:30 p.m., BTN, 720-AM): The Wildcats’ record after a loss under coach David Braun is 6-1. Chances are, 7-1 isn’t getting ready to happen. But getting out of Evanston might do this team some good, as it did for the ’Cats last November as well as in the bowl game, and as it did this year in a blowout win at Maryland. Pat Fitzgerald’s teams liked to get away, too; three of their last four visits to Kinnick Stadium ended in victory. ’Cats play better but still come up short, 23-13.

No. 21 Missouri (+16½) at No. 15 Alabama (2:30 p.m., ABC 7): Mizzou is up against it in the injury department. If they’re without QB Brady Cook, as expected, Drew Pyne — formerly of Notre Dame — gets the nod. He’s not a dual threat like Cook; the absence of a running threat from that position makes a tall task enormous. Roll, Tide, roll, 35-14.

No. 8 LSU (+1½) at No. 14 Texas A&M (6:30 p.m., ABC 7): Each team has been nicked in the loss column once, but it’s far from being a College Football Playoff elimination game because those losses came against non-SEC opponents USC (Tigers) and Notre Dame (Aggies). These are the only teams that still have zeroes in the SEC loss column, meaning the winner will be in the driver’s seat heading toward a conference title game that comes with an automatic top-four playoff berth at stake. But now I’m just stalling because this one’s so hard to pick. Fine, whatever, Aggies by three.

My favorite favorite: No. 13 Indiana (-6½) vs. Washington (11 a.m., BTN): The unbeaten Hoosiers have covered six straight games with at least 10 points to spare. Until this train stops steaming, I’m on board.

My favorite underdog: Wisconsin (+6½) vs. No. 3 Penn State (6:30 p.m., NBC 5): The Badgers have outscored Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern 117-16 in their last three games.

Edge in first downs in those games: 71-32. Edge in rushing yards: 736-394. Edge in passing yards: 761-302. Weak opponents? Maybe, but something’s happening here. Have a night, Madtown — upset.

Last week: 3-3 straight-up, 2-4 against the spread. 

Season: 34-17, 25-25-1.