Illini Football 2026

#234      
Illinivek23
SCillini said:
He said at the beginning of the year, before they determined the starters, when he was still fighting for a role.
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Exactly my point - should have always been considered as an up and comer in the program. Just don't know why we make some of the decisions we do, in terms of depth chart on the OL. I trust Bret, not sure about having that same faith in some of the staff.
 
#237      
Illini2010-11
Fly Illini Fly! said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2115448700747350041
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Absolutely crazy the way the season has unfolded. If the Illini handle business Saturday, then the team will be 5-3 entering November.

Taking away everything that transpired in the month of September, I think a majority of the fans would feel pretty satisfied with that record before the season started. The losses to Duke and Purdue no doubt left a bad taste in the mouth, but the win vs Oregon has made up for a lot of that.

Unfortunately, nobody predicted how difficult the November part of the schedule would have become, with potentially three of the four games being against a ranked opponent (and the one not ranked is still in the top 25 SP+ rankings).

In the preseason thread, a 6-6 record would have been seen as a major letdown from the prior two seasons, but in context of how hard this schedule has become (and the talent on the roster), it will have been a very good coaching year from Coach B to get to another bowl game. For the very young players on this roster, the bowl practices might be really important to jumpstarting the 2027 season.
 
#238      
Fighter of the Nightman
Sort of a random trivia post (surprise! :ROFLMAO:), but as I was thinking about how sweet it would be if I got to watch us upset UCLA in the Rose Bowl while at my brother-in-law's wedding in Curaçao ... it got me thinking. When was the last time our Illini upset each of our Big Ten foes in their stadiums while they were ranked higher than we were? For fun and to build out the list a tad more, I included the last time we had a similar upset but at home, as well.

Away Upsets
2024 - #24 Illinois 31, #22 Nebraska 24 (OT)
2021 - Illinois 14, #20 Minnesota 6
2021 - Illinois 20, #7 Penn State 18 (9 OT)
2010* - Illinois 48, #25 Northwestern 27 at Wrigley Field
2007 - Illinois 28, #1 Ohio State 21
2001 - #21 Illinois 38, #20 Purdue 13
1999 - Illinois 35, #9 Michigan 29
1989 - #22 Illinois 14, #5 USC 13
1975 - Illinois 21, #16 Michigan State 19
1959 - Illinois 9, #7 Wisconsin 6
1946* - #5 Illinois 45, #4 UCLA 14 in the Rose Bowl ... I'm counting it!

Home Upsets
2025 - #23 Illinois 34, #21 USC 32
2019 - Illinois 24, #6 Wisconsin 23
2007 - Illinois 27, #21 Penn State 20
1991 - #20 Illinois 10, #11 Ohio State 7
1988 - Illinois 21, #20 Indiana 20
1986 - Illinois 20, #16 Iowa 16
1983 - #9 Illinois 16, #8 Michigan 6
1971 - Illinois 21, #17 Purdue 7
1959 - Illinois 28, #8 Northwestern 0
1958 - Illinois 16, #20 Michigan State 0
1957 - Illinois 34, #4 Minnesota 13
1950 - Illinois 20, #10 Washington 13

Team's we've never beaten at their place when they are ranked higher than we are:
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Washington

Team's we've never beaten in Champaign when they are ranked higher than we are:
- Nebraska
- UCLA

Teams we've never beaten anywhere when they are ranked higher than we are:
- Oregon
- Washington

Teams that have literally never been ranked higher than us when we've played them:
- Maryland
- Rutgers

The list is obviously just for fun and to take some older fans down Memory Lane, but it's nonetheless important to point out some potential flaws and things to keep in mind...

1) Obviously, we have WAY less history with the newer Big Ten teams than with our traditional conference foes, so those ones should be taken with a grain of salt ... pretty much goes without saying.

2) One should consider the opponent. For example, Indiana has VERY rarely been ranked when we have traveled to Bloomington. Failing to score an "upset" win at Indiana is not in any way comparable to the way crazier stat that we have never walked into Iowa City and beaten a higher-ranked Iowa team, as that scenario has happened so much more over the years.

3) In an effort to be objective, I had to go with simple ranking differentials ... so a hypothetical scenario where #8 Illinois goes into Happy Valley in beats #9 Penn State technically would not count here, even though PSU would have almost certainly been the favorite in that game.

4) On that same note, this fails to capture the MUCH more common scenario where an unranked Illini team goes on the road and wins as a clear underdog, but the opponent was also not ranked, so it doesn't count. A clear example of this is our 2023 walk-off win at Maryland, when we were just 2-4 and had just gotten embarrassed at home vs. Nebraska, whereas Maryland had started off 5-1 and just gave #4 Ohio State an actual test in Columbus.
 
#239      
lstewart53x3
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Sort of a random trivia post (surprise! :ROFLMAO:), but as I was thinking about how sweet it would be if I got to watch us upset UCLA in the Rose Bowl while at my brother-in-law's wedding in Curaçao ... it got me thinking. When was the last time our Illini upset each of our Big Ten foes in their stadiums while they were ranked higher than we were? For fun and to build out the list a tad more, I included the last time we had a similar upset but at home, as well.

Away Upsets
2024 - #24 Illinois 31, #22 Nebraska 24 (OT)
2021 - Illinois 14, #20 Minnesota 6
2021 - Illinois 20, #7 Penn State 18 (9 OT)
2010* - Illinois 48, #25 Northwestern 27 at Wrigley Field
2007 - Illinois 28, #1 Ohio State 21
2001 - #21 Illinois 38, #20 Purdue 13
1999 - Illinois 35, #9 Michigan 29
1989 - #22 Illinois 14, #5 USC 13
1975 - Illinois 21, #16 Michigan State 19
1959 - Illinois 9, #7 Wisconsin 6
1946* - #5 Illinois 45, #4 UCLA 14 in the Rose Bowl ... I'm counting it!

Home Upsets
2025 - #23 Illinois 34, #21 USC 32
2019 - Illinois 24, #6 Wisconsin 23
2007 - Illinois 27, #21 Penn State 20
1991 - #20 Illinois 10, #11 Ohio State 7
1988 - Illinois 21, #20 Indiana 20
1986 - Illinois 20, #16 Iowa 16
1983 - #9 Illinois 16, #8 Michigan 6
1971 - Illinois 21, #17 Purdue 7
1959 - Illinois 28, #8 Northwestern 0
1958 - Illinois 16, #20 Michigan State 0
1957 - Illinois 34, #4 Minnesota 13
1950 - Illinois 20, #10 Washington 13

Team's we've never beaten at their place when they are ranked higher than we are:
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Washington

Team's we've never beaten in Champaign when they are ranked higher than we are:
- Nebraska
- UCLA

Teams we've never beaten anywhere when they are ranked higher than we are:
- Oregon
- Washington

Teams that have literally never been ranked higher than us when we've played them:
- Maryland
- Rutgers

The list is obviously just for fun and to take some older fans down Memory Lane, but it's nonetheless important to point out some potential flaws and things to keep in mind...

1) Obviously, we have WAY less history with the newer Big Ten teams than with our traditional conference foes, so those ones should be taken with a grain of salt ... pretty much goes without saying.

2) One should consider the opponent. For example, Indiana has VERY rarely been ranked when we have traveled to Bloomington. Failing to score an "upset" win at Indiana is not in any way comparable to the way crazier stat that we have never walked into Iowa City and beaten a higher-ranked Iowa team, as that scenario has happened so much more over the years.

3) In an effort to be objective, I had to go with simple ranking differentials ... so a hypothetical scenario where #8 Illinois goes into Happy Valley in beats #9 Penn State technically would not count here, even though PSU would have almost certainly been the favorite in that game.

4) On that same note, this fails to capture the MUCH more common scenario where an unranked Illini team goes on the road and wins as a clear underdog, but the opponent was also not ranked, so it doesn't count. A clear example of this is our 2023 walk-off win at Maryland, when we were just 2-4 and had just gotten embarrassed at home vs. Nebraska, whereas Maryland had started off 5-1 and just gave #4 Ohio State an actual test in Columbus.
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I think you might’ve forgotten one

IMG_0743.jpeg
 
#240      
Illini2010-11
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Sort of a random trivia post (surprise! :ROFLMAO:), but as I was thinking about how sweet it would be if I got to watch us upset UCLA in the Rose Bowl while at my brother-in-law's wedding in Curaçao ... it got me thinking. When was the last time our Illini upset each of our Big Ten foes in their stadiums while they were ranked higher than we were? For fun and to build out the list a tad more, I included the last time we had a similar upset but at home, as well.

Away Upsets
2024 - #24 Illinois 31, #22 Nebraska 24 (OT)
2021 - Illinois 14, #20 Minnesota 6
2021 - Illinois 20, #7 Penn State 18 (9 OT)
2010* - Illinois 48, #25 Northwestern 27 at Wrigley Field
2007 - Illinois 28, #1 Ohio State 21
2001 - #21 Illinois 38, #20 Purdue 13
1999 - Illinois 35, #9 Michigan 29
1989 - #22 Illinois 14, #5 USC 13
1975 - Illinois 21, #16 Michigan State 19
1959 - Illinois 9, #7 Wisconsin 6
1946* - #5 Illinois 45, #4 UCLA 14 in the Rose Bowl ... I'm counting it!

Home Upsets
2025 - #23 Illinois 34, #21 USC 32
2019 - Illinois 24, #6 Wisconsin 23
2007 - Illinois 27, #21 Penn State 20
1991 - #20 Illinois 10, #11 Ohio State 7
1988 - Illinois 21, #20 Indiana 20
1986 - Illinois 20, #16 Iowa 16
1983 - #9 Illinois 16, #8 Michigan 6
1971 - Illinois 21, #17 Purdue 7
1959 - Illinois 28, #8 Northwestern 0
1958 - Illinois 16, #20 Michigan State 0
1957 - Illinois 34, #4 Minnesota 13
1950 - Illinois 20, #10 Washington 13

Team's we've never beaten at their place when they are ranked higher than we are:
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Washington

Team's we've never beaten in Champaign when they are ranked higher than we are:
- Nebraska
- UCLA

Teams we've never beaten anywhere when they are ranked higher than we are:
- Oregon
- Washington

Teams that have literally never been ranked higher than us when we've played them:
- Maryland
- Rutgers

The list is obviously just for fun and to take some older fans down Memory Lane, but it's nonetheless important to point out some potential flaws and things to keep in mind...

1) Obviously, we have WAY less history with the newer Big Ten teams than with our traditional conference foes, so those ones should be taken with a grain of salt ... pretty much goes without saying.

2) One should consider the opponent. For example, Indiana has VERY rarely been ranked when we have traveled to Bloomington. Failing to score an "upset" win at Indiana is not in any way comparable to the way crazier stat that we have never walked into Iowa City and beaten a higher-ranked Iowa team, as that scenario has happened so much more over the years.

3) In an effort to be objective, I had to go with simple ranking differentials ... so a hypothetical scenario where #8 Illinois goes into Happy Valley in beats #9 Penn State technically would not count here, even though PSU would have almost certainly been the favorite in that game.

4) On that same note, this fails to capture the MUCH more common scenario where an unranked Illini team goes on the road and wins as a clear underdog, but the opponent was also not ranked, so it doesn't count. A clear example of this is our 2023 walk-off win at Maryland, when we were just 2-4 and had just gotten embarrassed at home vs. Nebraska, whereas Maryland had started off 5-1 and just gave #4 Ohio State an actual test in Columbus.
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Oregon was technically ranked #25 in the Coaches Poll when we played them on Saturday. So you can technically move them over to the beaten in Champaign part of the list.
 
#241      
fuddrules
Illini2010-11 said:
Absolutely crazy the way the season has unfolded. If the Illini handle business Saturday, then the team will be 5-3 entering November.

Taking away everything that transpired in the month of September, I think a majority of the fans would feel pretty satisfied with that record before the season started. The losses to Duke and Purdue no doubt left a bad taste in the mouth, but the win vs Oregon has made up for a lot of that.

Unfortunately, nobody predicted how difficult the November part of the schedule would have become, with potentially three of the four games being against a ranked opponent (and the one not ranked is still in the top 25 SP+ rankings).

In the preseason thread, a 6-6 record would have been seen as a major letdown from the prior two seasons, but in context of how hard this schedule has become (and the talent on the roster), it will have been a very good coaching year from Coach B to get to another bowl game. For the very young players on this roster, the bowl practices might be really important to jumpstarting the 2027 season.
Click to expand...

I agree with this but one thing that can't be accounted for until game day (or game week) is timing.

Duke and Purdue played Illinois at the optimal time for them. Illinois played Oregon at the optimal time (I don't think Oregon goes downhill, but you never know).

Our next 5 opponents? We aren't even sure about Maryland - who knows how they play, it could go either way.

The next 4 are too far away to tell. Lots can happen in the weeks ahead.

Last year Illinois played Duke at the optimal time. They played Wisconsin at the worst possible time.

Timing means a lot and it appears from here on out for our opponents, the timing is not good for them. Illinois seems to have put it together and still has a lot to prove.
 
#242      
Fighter of the Nightman
lstewart53x3 said:
I think you might’ve forgotten one

View attachment 52197
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I kept it to Big Ten only. :giggle:

Illini2010-11 said:
Oregon was technically ranked #25 in the Coaches Poll when we played them on Saturday. So you can technically move them over to the beaten in Champaign part of the list.
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Thanks, I used the Wikipedia pages for Illini football teams, and they only list one number (which I assume is always the AP Poll or possibly the CFP rankings past a certain week in more recent years?).
 
#243      
Brosky
Dick Butkus chooses

I didn't know where else to put this, so my apologies if inappropriate posting. Earlier today I stumbled across a Dick Butkus interview in which he names the five greatest players he played with or against in the NFL. These five were chosen: Ray Nitschke (Illini) and the Packers. Johnny Unitas, Gale Sayers, Deacon Jones, and Jim Brown. The interview itself was interesting, as Butkus said he made his picks with so much difficulty. P.S. Butkus is still the greatest, most intense middle backer I ever saw, and I saw most all his games, as an Illini, and then for the Bears.
 
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