And I think this is my current preference for our games this year if it were up to me! I might change my mind on some of these, but some (e.g., at Indiana...) are pretty rock solid opinions, haha.
A couple general notes:
1) I am not on the bandwagon to have the Script helmet be designated for the postseason only ... I would utilize it, personally, as our main home helmet and utilize Slant
ILLINOIS as the default road one.
2) I am assuming that the Butkus Era and (obviously) Wrigley-themed Block I helmets are off the table, but I am assuming Arched ILLINI is still an option.
3) I went back and forth, but I am CURRENTLY leaning toward thinking it would be cooler to let the Grange Era throwbacks stand on their own for that iconic Michigan game and not wear them this year ... maybe an every-four-years pattern so a kid who stays all four seasons gets to wear them at least once. With that said, I could be persuaded to bust them out vs. USC for Homecoming if they're going to be utilized for any game (OSU would also be cool, but that is the Orange Out game).
vs. Western Illinois ... Kick off this season's home opener with the uniforms that brought us the Citrus Bowl win and all of the ensuing hype we are currently enjoying!
View attachment 43228
at Duke ... Go back to the road uniform that brought us road wins at Nebraska and Rutgers, as well as a battle in Happy Valley. I think this will establish itself as the go-to road uniform, and I'm a fan.
View attachment 43229
vs. Western Michigan ... I really considered an
O/B/B look here, as this is our only 100% guaranteed game under the lights at Memorial Stadium. However, I do think we should reserve our more unique looks for truly unique occasions, so we rock the same uniform as Week One.
View attachment 43228
at Indiana ... It's time, folks. #BPOTR is too perfect for this one, as it will likely be a super hyped road game, it very well could be in primetime and an opponent with red as its primary color is the exact time we should wear navy pants on the road, as it's a better contrast than the orange. Also, the Arched ILLINI helmet with this look just looks great and has this kind of retro swagger.
View attachment 43231
vs. USC (Homecoming) ... Again, IF we wore the Grange Era throwbacks, this would be it. However, I like the idea of always wearing
O/B/O on Homecoming, and this would be a good time to finally see the Slant
ILLINOIS helmet with the navy jersey for the first time.
View attachment 43234
at Purdue ... Back to the standard road uniform for what is hopefully an absolute beatdown in front of several thousand Illini fans who made the trip!
View attachment 43229
vs. Ohio State (Orange Out) ... While I really want to see the white pants with the orange jersey, I can be sympathetic to the idea that the "Orange Out" game should have us wearing all orange. I also think the Script helmet might look even better with the orange, but I think we have to go with Slant
ILLINOIS here, as we wore it the last time we actually beat these guys. Also, this one might be under the lights if we are lucky, so let's go back to what got us the big-time win vs. KU last year.
View attachment 43237
at Washington ... Standard road uniform but bust out the Script helmet instead to show it off on the West Coast and hopefully usher in some good juju for a new era of actually winning some of these games where we travel to the Pacific Time Zone!
View attachment 43240
vs. Rutgers (Dads Day) ... Give the dads some Arched ILLINI for Dads Day! I also just feel like the
O/B/B is very 1980s Illini in my head, so it goes naturally with this helmet.
View attachment 43236
vs. Maryland (Veterans Day) ... Basically last year's Veterans Day look but this time we get to see it with the white pants! I could be persuaded that we should keep the orange uniform "special" and only wear it once per year, but I think it looks good with the Slant
ILLINOIS Veterans Day helmet.
View attachment 43238
at Wisconsin ... I know we "should" reserve the #BPOTR look for big-time road games (i.e., maybe once per year?) ... but this IS a big-time road game! Bielema's former team, revenge for the 2023 debacle, a possible chance to end the Fickell Era and possibly playing for a CFP spot. This time we utilize the Script helmet, but it's back to #BPOTR.
View attachment 43239
vs. Northwestern ... Standard home uniform for a standard beatdown of the Kitties. I also think (similar to Homecoming) we should always wear this for Senior Day.
View attachment 43228
Postseason Home ... I am not 100% tied to anything here, honestly; we have a lot of great looks. However, I would tend to lean toward the look that got us the Citrus Bowl victory!
View attachment 43228
Postseason Away ... As I said, I am not on board with ONLY using the Script for postseason play, so I say we go back to the ultimate big-game road uniform.
View attachment 43231
That's what I would do, anyway! Different strokes for different folks, and I am sure in actuality we will see multiple things I don't like, such as no #BPOTR yet again and at least one road game where we wear white pants. However, we have a solid uniform set, and even the "bad" combos are light years better than the Lovie Era uniforms, so I can't complain too much!
I will hold off on my predictions of what we will wear until closer to Week One and I will also eventually post what I would PERSONALLY prefer we do for each game, but for now here are the missing combos from my 
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