Illini Football 2026

#1      

Dan

Dan
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Dan
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2026 Illini Football (2-3, 0-2)
DateOpponentResult
Thu, Sept 3UABW 42-23
Sat, Sept 12DukeL 27-31
Sat, Sept 19Southern IllinoisW 48-10
Sat, Sept 26at Ohio StateL 19-42
Sat, Oct 3PurdueL 17-24
Sat, Oct 10at Michigan State2:30pm FS1
Sat, Oct 24Oregon
Sat, Oct 31at Maryland
Fri, Nov 6Nebraska7:00pm FOX
Fri, Nov 13at UCLA8:00pm FOX
Sat, Nov 21Iowa
Sat, Nov 28at Northwestern

All times CT
 
#6      
Curbelo Fanboy
How do we feel about the program at the moment? I am still positive on Bret. He may have misjudged the DC situation but let's be honest, the D sucked last year most of the year as well. So something had to be tweaked. It does seem that the program funding really needs to elevate if the program is to ascend. I fear we are at a cross roads similar to when Mackovic left for Texas. We had a chance to throw some big $ at a up and coming head coach or maybe pluck one from another power conference program. Instead in true Illinois fashion we turned cheap & promoted from within by hiring Tepper. The after shocks of that poor decision are felt to this day.

TBH, if we aren't gonna step up & spend like a top 25 program then don't bother, let football rot & put everything into hoops. I HATE to suggest that but if we aren't gonna invest there is no point in giving a half assed effort.
 
#10      
Mr. Tibbs
Curbelo Fanboy said:
How do we feel about the program at the moment? I am still positive on Bret. He may have misjudged the DC situation but let's be honest, the D sucked last year most of the year as well. So something had to be tweaked. It does seem that the program funding really needs to elevate if the program is to ascend. I fear we are at a cross roads similar to when Mackovic left for Texas. We had a chance to throw some big $ at a up and coming head coach or maybe pluck one from another power conference program. Instead in true Illinois fashion we turned cheap & promoted from within by hiring Tepper. The after shocks of that poor decision are felt to this day.

TBH, if we aren't gonna step up & spend like a top 25 program then don't bother, let football rot & put everything into hoops. I HATE to suggest that but if we aren't gonna invest there is no point in giving a half assed effort.
Click to expand...
we will NEVER make a 24 team CFP if we arenā€™t in the top 30 - 35 in NIL spending
 
#12      
Curbelo Fanboy
Mr. Tibbs said:
we will NEVER make a 24 team CFP if we arenā€™t in the top 30 - 35 in NIL spending
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And if we are even remotely trying to be legit there is no reason we shouldn't at least be in the top 35 in NIL. Big conference, big state & a good fanbase when it is given a solid product.
 
#13      
wma500
Honest question. Perhaps discussed before, but asking it in light of where things "feel" after the loss against Purdue....are there enough NIL dollars to go around to make both hoops and football good, at the same time? Or, is there a push and pull between the two, against each other? I ask this in light of what Brett has said about last off season.
 
#14      
AirTran
wma500 said:
Honest question. Perhaps discussed before, but asking it in light of where things "feel" after the loss against Purdue....are there enough NIL dollars to go around to make both hoops and football good, at the same time? Or, is there a push and pull between the two, against each other? I ask this in light of what Brett has said about last off season.
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The two (Football NIL and Basketball NIL) are not related, donations don't have a split they are specified. Indiana, Kentucky, Duke, UNC, Michigan and (at least this year) UCLA don't seem to have any issues creating competitive ro$ters in both sports.
 
#16      
Chillinini
Need an experienced DC. Let's get a better OL coach. Let's get P4 coaches who can actually develop players and coach their positions.

I do think Bret's downfall is his loyalty to certain coaches who should be let go sooner than later, just like AHen.
 
#17      
ChiefGritty
Curbelo Fanboy said:
How do we feel about the program at the moment?
Click to expand...
I'd say I have two big thoughts.

The first is that I think in the fanbase and worryingly to some extent within the program itself, the analysis of where we've been, where we are, and where we're going suffers from a lack of appreciation for just how remarkable and extraordinary it was to have the first consecutive 9 win seasons in the 136 year history of this program, capped off with the first two wins against the SEC in program history.

I think if that were digested as the amazing achievement it was, heads would be clearer.

And the second thing, which is somewhat but not entirely in tension with the first, is that I recognize my own bias as a college football luddite and doomer, and I have to keep reminding myself that this whole crisis has arisen from losing two home games against teams with less NIL than we have. Bielema really badly screwed up this galaxy-brained shift in defensive philosophy, and it just puts us in a very vulnerable and challenging position going forward.

From the moment we bum-rushed Scott Frost with looks he didn't see coming in his very first game, Bielema has never really been behind the 8 ball in his entire tenure here. Unfortunately that has now changed.
 
#18      
FloridaMan
Second place is 1st loser said:
Until we upgrade the talent, it doesn't matter if it's you, me, Dennis Allen or Brian Flores. The results will be the same. Can't make lemonade out of lemons in this realm.
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100%. We are seeing the results of prematurely promoting AHEN to DC. He apparently was not ready for that responsibility in addition to recruiting at the level it takes to maintain 2022 level defense. He was a tremendous DB recruiter if memory serves; after becoming DC what happened? Upper class talent level on that side of the ball is bottom of conference by quite a large margin.

And maybe that is incorrect and there is someone else BB is hanging on to past time to cut bait??? I do not know, but BB has to figure out how to put the right people in the right spots and keep them there.
 
#20      
Vinegarben
Michigan State game may be Illini's last good chance for a win. Don't think they beat anyone after next Saturday.
 
#21      
OrangeBlue98
Curbelo Fanboy said:
How do we feel about the program at the moment? I am still positive on Bret. He may have misjudged the DC situation but let's be honest, the D sucked last year most of the year as well. So something had to be tweaked. It does seem that the program funding really needs to elevate if the program is to ascend. I fear we are at a cross roads similar to when Mackovic left for Texas. We had a chance to throw some big $ at a up and coming head coach or maybe pluck one from another power conference program. Instead in true Illinois fashion we turned cheap & promoted from within by hiring Tepper. The after shocks of that poor decision are felt to this day.

TBH, if we aren't gonna step up & spend like a top 25 program then don't bother, let football rot & put everything into hoops. I HATE to suggest that but if we aren't gonna invest there is no point in giving a half assed effort.
Click to expand...
Bielema has earned a fair amount of capital from the last few years, but he has to recognize what needs changing and be ruthless about it. Spending priorities also need to be examined.
 
#22      
IlliniWu
Curbelo Fanboy said:
How do we feel about the program at the moment? I am still positive on Bret. He may have misjudged the DC situation but let's be honest, the D sucked last year most of the year as well. So something had to be tweaked. It does seem that the program funding really needs to elevate if the program is to ascend. I fear we are at a cross roads similar to when Mackovic left for Texas. We had a chance to throw some big $ at a up and coming head coach or maybe pluck one from another power conference program. Instead in true Illinois fashion we turned cheap & promoted from within by hiring Tepper. The after shocks of that poor decision are felt to this day.

TBH, if we aren't gonna step up & spend like a top 25 program then don't bother, let football rot & put everything into hoops. I HATE to suggest that but if we aren't gonna invest there is no point in giving a half assed effort.
Click to expand...


I still feel the program is trending up. It may be a transition season as many predicted beforehand, so I was already prepared for that. Didn't expect the defensive collapse but it is what it is. I'm hopeful they can get all this cleaned up soon and we continue to see a good brand of football the rest of this season.

I'm not down about chances for wins like some, but I've learned to put aside emotion if the team isn't that good or doesn't win much (We've seen the opposite recent years so its been good).

Definitely need to clean things up though, however that may be. I have confidence in Whitman to get things did whether it winds up being BB (Think he gets it right) or anybody else. They've definitely elevated it though so I can appreciate that much, and I'll continue to watch.
 
#23      
bluemountain
BB is a good coach. He is also confident to the point of being arrogant, as are most successful coaches. While I recognize we are dealing with a funding disadvantage, where we go from here is largely on him. If he reacts like he did at Arkansas he will be gone at the end of next year. On the other hand, if he recognizes where he has made mistakes and takes steps to correct them, there is no reason we can't bounce back quickly.
 
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