I usually take a stab at guessing the betting line before I check to see if Illinois is the favorite or underdog each week, and there was little question in my mind that Northwestern would be favored to keep the Illini from becoming bowl eligible.

The Wildcats are 8-3, the Illini 5-6. Northwestern is the home team and Illinois is 1-4 away from Champaign this season. The Wildcats are playing for a possible Jan. 1 bowl game while the Illini are playing for any bowl that will take them.

So, I was surprised to find that Illinois is favored by 3 points and had to find out why.

“Just the power rating,” said Mike Seba, senior oddsmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. “I have them pretty much even and that’s including the home-field advantage, so actually Illinois is the better team.”

Seba said he likes Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka more than C.J. Bacher. But Kafka is questionable with a concussion, so that played a role in the betting line. He also said that Illinois still carries a more favorable public opinion than Northwestern based on last year’s success, and that is a factor.

“Juice Williams gets so much publicity and with the success they had last year, even though it hasn’t translated to this year, there’s a perception Illinois is the better team,” he said. “And if you look at some of Northwestern’s wins, they did it with smoke and mirrors. Not to downgrade them because they’re a decent team.”

Seba said Northwestern usually has a big home-field advantage but that is lessened because of the short trip for the Illini and the large number of fans they are likely to have in attendance. So far, more people have bet on Illinois in Las Vegas because the opening line has moved from 2 1/2 to 3.

So, what is Seba’s hunch?

“It seems a little high to me,” he said. “If I was a bettor, I’d look to take Northwestern plus the three.”