Did the “Monday Night Sim” last night. I wasn't sure how the game would play it out. When NCAA 10 was released, Illinois is rated decently because good things were expected out of them this season. Cincinnati was rated better as expected, but I don't know if anybody thought they would be in the hunt for a BCS game, or maybe even a shot at the National Title if certain things go their way. With that being said, this game ended up pretty ugly anyway.

NCAA 10 on the XBOX 360

Cincinnati 37      Illinois 3

Illinois went up 3-0 early, then the game game was over. Cincinnati QB Tony Pike was awesome, going 23-39 for 315, two touchdowns and no interceptions. His favorite target was WR Mardy Gilyard, who had nine catches for a whopping 166 yards. WR D.J. Woods caught only two balls, but made the most of them since they were both of Pike's TD passes.

RB Isaiah Pead had a great game with 79 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, FS Brad Jones had a huge play were he caused a fumble and recovered it, while LB Demetrius Jones had the teams over takeaway with an interception.

As for the Illini, there isn't really anything impressive to talk about. QB Juice Williams was 14-30 for only 180 yards and that one interception. Rushing wise, HB Jason Ford couldn't really get going, running for only 59 yards on 15 carries along with a fumble. WR Arrelious Benn was the teams leading receiver bring in five receptions for 70 yards.

Defensively, LB Evan Frierson led the way with 10 tackles and DL Corey Liguet had a sack. Other than that, there isn't anything else to say about the defense, and there isn't anything else to say about this sim. It just wasn't pretty.

My Prediction

Cincinnati 38      Illinois 14

The only way Illinois has a chance to win this game is to not make a single mistake. If Illinois has just one interception, one fumble, one drop in the end zone, or even just one dumb penalty, they are done. Pretty much, they need to play a perfect game. Cincinnati wants to keep that record spotless, but they could be looking ahead to the following week when they have to travel to #9 Pittsburgh. To Cincinnati, Illinois just looks like a speed bump in a parking lot. The question is, will they see it and slow down, or will they bottom out when driving over it?

Cincinnati has one of the most impressive stats this year in FBS Football. They have only turned the ball over six times this season. SIX!!! Five interceptions and only one lost fumble. As you can probably guess, that is the best in FBS football. Meanwhile, Illinois has only forced 14 turnovers. That's near the bottom  in the FBS and on top of that, their four interceptions this season is only better than UNLV which has three. The odds of Cincinnati not turning the ball over are probably greater than their odds to win this game, which is already likely.

Tony Pike will be back there at quarterback, and he's near the top in the country in quarterback efficiency. I don't think anybody in the world knows how to calculate that thing, but what we do know is the higher the number, the better the QB is doing. He's thrown 17 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Illinois' defensive line better be able to put some pressure on this guy, or he will gobble us up (me and my stupid Thanksgiving humor).

Of course, we know that Illinois needs to run in order to be successful. So how good does Cincy do at stopping the run? They rank 49th in the country allowing 133 yards a game. Nothing special, so maybe the Illini can get some things going there. However, the Bearcats rank 28th in the country in pass defense only allowing 112 yards a game. Passing might be an issue.

Time for you to send me your predictions for this game. Can Illinois do what they did in Columbus just two years ago, or will Cincinnati take Illinois to school on a non-school day? Cincinnati is a heavy 19.5-point favorite at home, and they should be. This is a good football team. Illinois will have to be a great football team if they want to play the role of spoiler this Friday.

I-L-L...

* All stats can be found of IlliniHQ.com *