12-0. Combined score 1200-0
2025 Season Predictions Thread
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mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
A few predictions that are not team record:
Altmyer finishes his career at Illinois as:
- 5th all-time in passing yards (Scheelhaase, Kittner, Trudeau, & Juice)
- 2nd all-time in passing TDs (Kittner)
- 1st all-time in passing efficiency with more than 400 passing attempts (currently DeVito)
Feagin and Laughery both move into the top-30 in career rushing yards (30th right now is Bill Brown at 1,269 yards)
Altmyer finishes his career at Illinois as:
- 5th all-time in passing yards (Scheelhaase, Kittner, Trudeau, & Juice)
- 2nd all-time in passing TDs (Kittner)
- 1st all-time in passing efficiency with more than 400 passing attempts (currently DeVito)
Feagin and Laughery both move into the top-30 in career rushing yards (30th right now is Bill Brown at 1,269 yards)
I now realize the lack of forethought in this prediction, as this record will surely get them into the B1G championship and the playoff, so that is more games.
15-1, loss to Purdue.
I’m going to give a prediction of between 7-5 and 10-2. I know that’s lame but I really have no idea other than this Illinois team will be far better than most of the past teams.
I’ll give two “hopes”, instead:
1) I hope Altmyer throws a few more interceptions
I don’t consider that a hot take. Last year Luke was too passive (although improved). I understand limiting turnovers is key but he needs to take more chances.
Taking 32 sacks is poor. That placed Illinois in the bottom 3rd of college football. It’s not all on Altmyer but he does hold onto the ball too often for far too long.
He was tied for 5th in fumbles lost for ALL college players regardless of position.
Taking a few more chances will also lead to increased YPC.
So, fewer sacks, fewer fumbles, better YPC will, IMO, lead to more points despite a few more interceptions. He seemed to let loose in the Bowl game and I hope he keeps that up. That was a fun game.
2) Decrease opponent’s 3rd down conversion rate.
Here, Illinois was in the bottom 25% of college football. Ugh.
Opponent has 3rd and 3, Illinois D says, we’ll give you 4 yards, but if you throw deep, we will intercept it.
Illinois TOP, bottom 25% of college football teams. A Bielema coached team in the bottom 25% of TOP? Strange. Those two stats go hand in hand.
Again, passive play.
Illinois' D was good in the red zone but outside the red zone, they let teams move up and down the field.
If you turn the opponent over, you’ll give Altmyer 3 or 4 possessions more per game to score points. Even if you end with an occasional bust, your opponent won’t ultimately score more points, you will just give your offense more possessions.
Also, Illinois has much improved defensive depth this year. Probably better than most opponents. Force their D to be on the field, not yours. If your defense is on the field for so long, their defense is resting. Illinois needs to flip this. Smash those 3rd downs.
Anyway, those are my hopes. I don’t expect BB to change much. He’s made a name for himself with his coaching style. It works, he wins. But one can hope for an aggressive BB, CFP chances may hinge on it.
I’ll give two “hopes”, instead:
1) I hope Altmyer throws a few more interceptions
I don’t consider that a hot take. Last year Luke was too passive (although improved). I understand limiting turnovers is key but he needs to take more chances.
Taking 32 sacks is poor. That placed Illinois in the bottom 3rd of college football. It’s not all on Altmyer but he does hold onto the ball too often for far too long.
He was tied for 5th in fumbles lost for ALL college players regardless of position.
Taking a few more chances will also lead to increased YPC.
So, fewer sacks, fewer fumbles, better YPC will, IMO, lead to more points despite a few more interceptions. He seemed to let loose in the Bowl game and I hope he keeps that up. That was a fun game.
2) Decrease opponent’s 3rd down conversion rate.
Here, Illinois was in the bottom 25% of college football. Ugh.
Opponent has 3rd and 3, Illinois D says, we’ll give you 4 yards, but if you throw deep, we will intercept it.
Illinois TOP, bottom 25% of college football teams. A Bielema coached team in the bottom 25% of TOP? Strange. Those two stats go hand in hand.
Again, passive play.
Illinois' D was good in the red zone but outside the red zone, they let teams move up and down the field.
If you turn the opponent over, you’ll give Altmyer 3 or 4 possessions more per game to score points. Even if you end with an occasional bust, your opponent won’t ultimately score more points, you will just give your offense more possessions.
Also, Illinois has much improved defensive depth this year. Probably better than most opponents. Force their D to be on the field, not yours. If your defense is on the field for so long, their defense is resting. Illinois needs to flip this. Smash those 3rd downs.
Anyway, those are my hopes. I don’t expect BB to change much. He’s made a name for himself with his coaching style. It works, he wins. But one can hope for an aggressive BB, CFP chances may hinge on it.
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Jacas needs only 7 to move into second all time in sacks. I'd keep that on the radar.
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We were a bend don’t break D last year. We rarely rushed more than 4 people on any given play. I expect we blitz more from all sides as I expect Gabe to play weak and strong side down lineman. Too many times last year, Gabe dropped into coverage. Since our DBs will be nearly as good as we were in 22, I think Henry will be more creative on a pass rush as we gave QBs too much time to throw last year. Aggressive will be the game plan on D this year instead of that soft zone that ate us up in some games.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Here’s my prediction! 
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
Great minds think alike, looks like you just think we won't have a 'lose one we should have won' game, and I still do. Otherwise identical picks!I keep putting my official predictions off for some reason, as if I am going to become a seasoned football analyst by tomorrow ... and as if those seasoned analysts aren't wrong all the time.So ... screw it, here's my final take:
W vs. Western Illinois (ILL stays at #12)
W at Duke (ILL moves up to #10 - and we all feel slighted!)
W vs. Western Michigan (ILL moves up to #9)
W at #20 Indiana (ILL moves up to #6 - and we all start freaking out!)
L vs. USC (ILL drops to #10)
W at Purdue (ILL stays at #10)
L vs. Ohio State (ILL drops to #12)
L at Washington (ILL drops to #16)
W vs. Rutgers (ILL stays at #16)
W vs. Maryland (ILL moves up to #15)
W at Wisconsin (ILL moves up to #12 - it's a BEATDOWN in Madison)
W vs. Northwestern (ILL moves up to #10 thanks to chaos on Rivalry Weekend)
We do not make the Big Ten Championship Game, but hope for the CFP still lives on. It's a season a lot like 2007 where there are a ton of teams with really good records, and it's a total mess trying to figure out who belongs in. Our CFP hopes receive a revival due to a couple shocking conference championship games, but we are ultimately left out. We win our bowl game and get back-to-back 10-win seasons!
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
Got to admit my first thought was where the heck are Wilson & Eason? Had to look it up to remind myself they were not here that long. Then again, maybe that is the better comp since we will never again have a 4-year QB in the portal world.
Here are the top-5 in per-game passing yards, the rank shown is by your original career passing yards.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
I keep putting my official predictions off for some reason, as if I am going to become a seasoned football analyst by tomorrow ... and as if those seasoned analysts aren't wrong all the time.
W vs. Western Illinois (ILL stays at #12)
W at Duke (ILL moves up to #10 - and we all feel slighted!)
W vs. Western Michigan (ILL moves up to #9)
W at #20 Indiana (ILL moves up to #6 - and we all start freaking out!)
L vs. USC (ILL drops to #10)
W at Purdue (ILL stays at #10)
L vs. Ohio State (ILL drops to #12)
L at Washington (ILL drops to #16)
Illinois will be long gone from the AP poll if they're 5-3 and lost 3 of their last 4 games.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
One thing I heard on a podcast is that come bowl season, because this years team is an older team, we’ll likely have more players preparing for the draft, which means we’ll likely have more bowl game drop outs. So we might not be quite as likely to win a regular bowl game as last year.I keep putting my official predictions off for some reason, as if I am going to become a seasoned football analyst by tomorrow ... and as if those seasoned analysts aren't wrong all the time.
W vs. Western Illinois (ILL stays at #12)
W at Duke (ILL moves up to #10 - and we all feel slighted!)
W vs. Western Michigan (ILL moves up to #9)
W at #20 Indiana (ILL moves up to #6 - and we all start freaking out!)
L vs. USC (ILL drops to #10)
W at Purdue (ILL stays at #10)
L vs. Ohio State (ILL drops to #12)
L at Washington (ILL drops to #16)
W vs. Rutgers (ILL stays at #16)
W vs. Maryland (ILL moves up to #15)
W at Wisconsin (ILL moves up to #12 - it's a BEATDOWN in Madison)
W vs. Northwestern (ILL moves up to #10 thanks to chaos on Rivalry Weekend)
We do not make the Big Ten Championship Game, but hope for the CFP still lives on. It's a season a lot like 2007 where there are a ton of teams with really good records, and it's a total mess trying to figure out who belongs in. Our CFP hopes receive a revival due to a couple shocking conference championship games, but we are ultimately left out. We win our bowl game and get back-to-back 10-win seasons!
If they are No.6 prior to that stretch, I doubt it. Plus there's also a win in there. Even if it's dropping 6 spots per loss, you're still firmly in the top 25.
The AP isn't the totality of your season - just a week to week basis.
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PizzaHutParkingLot
- Vodice, Croatia
Anyone else hoping we see some parallels between the last couple Illinois Football teams and the 2019–20 / 2020–21 Illinois Basketball teams?
2019–20 Basketball / 2024–25 Football – Team experiences some bumps in the road, grows throughout the season and hits its stride toward the end of the year.
2020–21 Basketball / 2025–26 Football – Returns much of the core, (hopefully) beats Duke and builds on the previous season’s success, climbs into national relevance, and earns a postseason spot.
Bret always says Brad was a little ahead in his rebuild… here’s to hoping Bret and crew are breaking out the super soakers in December!
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Last year, there were exactly zero teams ranked in the AP poll with 3 losses after 8 games:
College football rankings: AP Top 25 Week 10 projection after Texas A&M throttles LSU
What to expect from Sunday's AP Top 25 poll...
247sports.com
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
Also impacts the attractiveness of Illinois to bowl committees.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Completely agree. I think that the Illini would be in the "receiving votes" section but will be well outside of the top 25. The losing 3 out of the last 4 games would include two home losses (granted against teams that will likely be ranked). That is enough to get them firmly outside of the top 25, especially considering there will be a number of power conference teams with only 1 loss.
As a point of comparison, the Illini fell out of the ranking last season after losing back-to-back games last season @Oregon and vs Minnesota, which brought the team's record to 6-3 (and that is slightly further into the season than falling to 5-3 this year). The Illini got ranked again after improving to 7-3, but even that was an extreme backend of the top 25, and they never improved out of the 20's until the final ranking. If the Illini fall to 5-3 after the Washington game, I doubt the Illini would get ranked again until after the Wisconsin game (assuming the Illini get to 8-3).
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Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
I think that attractiveness is more dependent on who the committees think will travel the best for the bowl destination. I personally doubt that the bowl committees are going to take too much stock in who would be playing in the games, especially considering nearly every program outside of the CFP is going to be facing a lot of opt outs. The bowls are more into maximizing revenue than necessarily having the most competitive games on the docket.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I disagree when you look at the games we'd lose. We will have just notched two Power Conference road wins, including vs. a top 20 Indiana team ... hard to believe a 4-0 Illini (who started at #12) who just beat a top 20 team on the road isn't solidly in the top 10. Very decent chance USC and Washington are ranked by the time we play them, and an OSU loss (that isn't a massacre) probably won't drop us much, if at all.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Not really apples to apples, though. We are preseason #12 this year, and we not only were not ranked to start the year last year ... we were not even receiving a single vote! It took us longer to climb to a lower ranking last season, and we also had way less "trust" from the voters to begin with. This was our "descent" after dropping to 6-3 for comparison:
10/26 - Illini are ranked #20 to start the day
10/26 - Illini lose 38-9 at #1 Oregon
---> Illini drop to #24
11/2 - Illini lose 25-17 to unranked Minnesota at home
---> Illini drop out of top 25
We dropped a total of 5 spots in the rankings for losing 2 in a row. In my prediction, I had us dropping 6 spots! We simply are starting from a much higher place. If you believe my rankings to begin with (which is kind of a necessary assumption to critique how far I think we will drop, haha), you would have us dropping over 15 spots for losing to top-5 OSU and on the road at (possibly ranked) Washington. I don't buy that at all.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
You have to go back to 2022 for a team to be ranked after a 5-3 start (Texas #24). I think you are bullish on the Illini ranking if they fall to 5-1 after USC game (USC likely will be ranked in the 20s or will be unranked coming to Champaign). I could easily see the Illini dropping into the teens for rankings. It is simply rare for a team to be ranked after starting 5-3, let alone being soldly ranked as you have hypothesized.
I think a 5-2 start has the Illini hovering somewhere in the 20s in the polls. A third loss likely drops them into the others receiving votes category.
Also comparing drops in spots to last season, you tend to drop further when you are ranked higher.
I mean, Mizzou was ranked #11 in the preseason rankings last season. After a 2-0 start they were #6. After winning 2 more games they fell to #9, which is the ranking they were at when they lost @ #25 Texas A&M. That loss busted them down all the way to #21. They won their next 2 and were ranked #21 with a record of 6-1 going into their matchup @ #15 Bama, which they lost. That knocked them out of the rankings with a record of 6-2, with both losses being on the road to ranked opponents.
There is a lot more volatility in these early season rankings than you're giving credit to, particularly higher up. Mizzou got moved down multiple times in weeks they won a game or did not play a game just because of what other teams were doing. And when they finally lost a game they moved down 16 spots in one go. If we go into USC ranked #6 and lose, we aren't going to just move down 4 spots - if you look at team movements in rankings after a loss, that kind of small move that early in the season is pretty rare. We probably end up in the 15-20 range after that loss. And yeah, maybe the OSU loss only bumps us a few spots because its OSU, but losing the next game after that I think we'd lose that benefit of the doubt and essentially get retroactively punished for that loss too.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
^ All fair. Either way, the rankings were just for fun and I think the W/L breakdown is my final pick. Honestly, though, I could see a LOT of different scenarios. Beating OSU in another fairytale-like environment (similar to Michigan last year) and losing at Wisconsin is not hard to picture at all.
Honestly, though, I could see a LOT of different scenarios. Beating OSU in another fairytale-like environment (similar to Michigan last year) and losing at Wisconsin is not hard to picture at all.SuperMetroid
- Evanston
Maybe it's the scar tissue talking, but I'm going with 8-4. A great season by our standards but not quite reaching full potential. I think it's entirely possible we'll be a 'better' team but end up with a worse record.
- Schedule is tougher than it looks
- We aren't sneaking up on anyone
- Our luck in close games is bound to run out at some point
- Who's our Pat Bryant that can single-handedly win us a game or two?
That said, the Duke game is absolutely huge. Win that one convincingly and 10+ wins and the Playoff starts to look a lot more plausible.
- Schedule is tougher than it looks
- We aren't sneaking up on anyone
- Our luck in close games is bound to run out at some point
- Who's our Pat Bryant that can single-handedly win us a game or two?
That said, the Duke game is absolutely huge. Win that one convincingly and 10+ wins and the Playoff starts to look a lot more plausible.
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