In the land of college football betting, the dog is king. That’s why Bookies.com is teaming up with a different animal shelter each week throughout the season to share dogs in need of a loving home. Our college football handicapper Dan Kilbridge will start by examining the college football spreads at sportsbooks, and picking his favorite underdog to cover the spread or win straight up that week. We then connect with a shelter from that team’s campus to share one lovable dog who could complete your family huddle. It’s all about cashing bets and rescuing pets with Dog of the Week.

Welcome to Week 2 of the college football season, where we’ve got our eye on a pair of can’t-miss dogs – Illinois is +10 at Virginia on our betting apps, and Hamburger, a 2 1/2-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier from Champaign, Illinois, is a pup who loves car rides and can’t wait to find a new team.

Illinois +10 at Virginia

Odds are current at publication. Betting sites may indicate odds changes closer to kickoff.

Speaking of lovable dogs, you can’t help but pull for an Illinois program that’s been down on its luck for the better part of the past two decades. Now with new coach Bret Bielema at the helm, the Illini are hoping to start barking in 2021.

Illinois won its season opener at Nebraska before succumbing to UTSA in an upset loss. We like the Illini to pounce back and cover on the road this week at Virginia.

The Illini have a solid offensive line and rushing attack behind a deep pool of versatile tailbacks. That should open things up and provide a few opportunities for the Illini passing game against a Cavs secondary that ranked dead last in the ACC against the pass last season.

Illinois has been without quarterback Brandon Peters since he got hurt in the first quarter of the season opener against Nebraska. Sophomore Rutgers transfer Artur Sitkowski has filled in admirably, with five touchdowns and no interceptions through two games.

Freshman wideout Isaiah Williams has also emerged as a go-to guy, with 142 yards and one score on 14 catches so far.

Virginia’s offense will have success behind quarterback Brennan Armstrong, but the Cavs have plenty of questions of their own that certainly weren’t answered in a blowout win over William & Mary.

The Illini have some new, exciting pieces and plenty of potential under Bielema. They’ve started to put them together through two weeks and this is a huge bounce-back game coming off an embarrassing home loss. We expect Illinois to gain more confidence and compete at a high level against Virginia, covering +10 in the process.

Hamburger

Hamburger is a 46-pound bundle of joy who loves being active and interacting with humans. He likes to practice hard and run play after play, learning new tricks and going on adventures. You can find out more about Hamburger at the Champaign County Humane Website.

The Champaign County Humane Society is open for adoptions from 2-7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, please call (217) 344-7297.