Illini Football 2026

#1      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
Welcome to the Illini Football thread šŸˆ

Tickets Info | Schedule

2026 Illini Football
Sat, Sept 5____UAB
Sat, Sept 12___Duke
Sat, Sept 19___Southern Illinois
Sat, Sept 26___at Ohio State
Sat, Oct 3_____Purdue (Homecoming)
Sat, Oct 10____at Michigan State
Sat, Oct 17____---bye---
Sat, Oct 24____Oregon
Sat, Oct 31____at Maryland
Sat, Nov 7_____Nebraska
Sat, Nov 14____at UCLA
Sat, Nov 21____Iowa
Sat, Nov 28____at Northwestern
 
#2      
phats22
giphy.gif
 
#8      
aaeismacgychel
Joel Goodson said:
ugh!
https://twitter.com/x/status/2038764086989562146
Click to expand...
That's a really rough injury for a position that needs that much initial burst and power. Long recovery time and fingers crossed he full recovers and no lasting athletic impact. Horrible news and poor kid. Medicine has certainly changed since my day, but my partial tear of the Achilles back in high school was pretty much the nail in the coffin for me sadly, and this is a full tear...
 
Last edited:
#17      
jamie13197
BZuppke said:
I donā€™t like nor agree with his Illini prediction but I give him credit for independent analysis:

www.rotoballer.com

Bold Predictions for Every Big Ten Team (2026 College Football)

Brant calls out a bold prediction for each of the 18 Big Ten teams for the 2026 college football season. See his thoughts on Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, and more.
www.rotoballer.com www.rotoballer.com
Click to expand...
I think we should be ready for some rough turbulence this year. Dline is in huge trouble. We should be ready to score 40 pts. Per Game.
 
#18      
IlliniWu
jamie13197 said:
I think we should be ready for some rough turbulence this year. Dline is in huge trouble. We should be ready to score 40 pts. Per Game.
Click to expand...


Luckily they shouldn't be that far off. I'm thinking this offense will average anywhere between 32-34 PPG.

Also not of the mind like others that the line will be a problem. The switch to the 3-3-5 neutralizes any numbers problems and has actually put some guys in even better position than the previous defense did.

Solid transfers and some underclassmen/freshmen with pretty good potential makes me feel like this will be a decent team at worst (7-5, 8-4 type team). Still moves to be made, etc. so they definitely still have a chance to solidify themselves.
 
#19      
jamie13197
We have never had a freshman in CoachB's tenure really shine. Feagin did some damage, Valentine a little, and Bailey has always been a surprise stud. Nothing worth moving needle.
I for one am excited about our, yet again starting Qb1 transfer. At some point I'd like to see 1 of the high school kids we recruit at Quarterback actually play. 5 years, all transfer Quarterbacks. Dline will end up making us a 5-7 team. If all teams we play go for 200+ yards on ground we are in trouble. I sincerely hope I'm wrong about this year. I understand a ton of changes in staff and philosophy.
 
#20      
IlliniWu
jamie13197 said:
We have never had a freshman in CoachB's tenure really shine. Feagin did some damage, Valentine a little, and Bailey has always been a surprise stud. Nothing worth moving needle.
I for one am excited about our, yet again starting Qb1 transfer. At some point I'd like to see 1 of the high school kids we recruit at Quarterback actually play. 5 years, all transfer Quarterbacks. Dline will end up making us a 5-7 team. If all teams we play go for 200+ yards on ground we are in trouble. I sincerely hope I'm wrong about this year. I understand a ton of changes in staff and philosophy.
Click to expand...

Thats the sign of a good program. They have gotten some pretty good incoming freshmen. Some contribute but for the most part football is an experience driven game moreso than talent unless you are one of the elite (Many times those are the high 4 and 5 star guys). Unless you're already a pretty good team, those guys mostly go unheralded until NFL draft time or they're a 2-3x plus All Conference/AA.

Its different and more glaring in bball when you can get a Keaton Wagler on a FF team. In football, they are almost literally a dime a dozen on bowl/major bowl teams, and even CFP teams.

The Illini have had pretty good freshmen who have also contributed on pretty good teams. I'm also waiting on that great incoming or RS freshman, etc. to put them into the elite. They have started to get more of the pool of those players, so it's only a matter of time (Including QB both on campus and incoming).
 
Back