mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
Besides 1-2 outliers, the "haters" on this thread are predicting 6 wins. The average is probably 7.5 or 8 wins, which is the Vegas line.
2026 Season Predictions Thread
Besides 1-2 outliers, the "haters" on this thread are predicting 6 wins. The average is probably 7.5 or 8 wins, which is the Vegas line.
Winning 2 of those 3 would be an enormous accomplishment
I think the answer is somewhere between 6-8 wins. The schedule is extremely favorable, BUT there are questions on both lines, on special teams and at the QB position.
5 years ago, if we had this many unknowns going into a season after losing darn good football players to the NFL, projections would have defaulted to 3-9.
Now, they default to still making a bowl game.
I don't see any haters this year. It's just a lot of unknowns going into game 1. It's going to be extremely interesting to see the season unfold.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Yeah honestly feel like the prediction thread has fairly reasonable expectations for the season.
I agree. As others have said, our schedule doesn't seem daunting. I guess we'll find out.
I'm pretty clueless on what to expect from the rest of the league. But in terms of Iowa being the same Iowa, I thought this ESPN article was interesting showing them dead last in the league for returning production and bottom third for returning starts.
Of course, we're not sitting pretty on this list either.
ESPN B1G predictions
Of course, we're not sitting pretty on this list either.
ESPN B1G predictions
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
Blind trust is a good way to describe my feelings towards Bret. He has done nothing in his 5 years here to make any logical person think that he won't at least field a competitive hard nosed team that will be at least in bowl contention in mid/late November if not already locked up. Win totals of 5, 8, 5, 10 & 9. And some of those years we didn't necessarily have talent commensurate with the # of wins achieved.
We are all "that light in the tunnel is an oncoming train" mentality around here cause we know the history. But Bret has earned that inherit trust from the fanbase unless/until he does something to prove otherwise. This year could run the gamit. I'd assume 6-6 at worst but he has a penchant for winning those tight ones that makes 8 or 9 a possibility. #INBERTWETRUST. And I use BERT as a term of endearment as noted by my profile pic. I love the guy.
I think this season (as we tend to always say) will be a big needle mover on the blind trust scale. Last year getting the job done with a big preseason hype team was needed, and barring a couple losses that stung he did just that. This year he’s in an average schedule (not too easy, not too hard) with not a lot of preseason hype; a decent amount of churn in the roster that I think is fairly decent. Not a massive splash roster, but nothing shabby either.
All to say, getting the job done, at least making a bowl, but getting 8+ wins this year I think is (albeit maybe unnecessary now at this point; he’s done enough) final piece of proof that we’re now those Iowa-esque teams. Where on an average year we’re getting 8 wins, and 10+ on a good year. The program solidly in that “good/respectable” tier.
All to say, getting the job done, at least making a bowl, but getting 8+ wins this year I think is (albeit maybe unnecessary now at this point; he’s done enough) final piece of proof that we’re now those Iowa-esque teams. Where on an average year we’re getting 8 wins, and 10+ on a good year. The program solidly in that “good/respectable” tier.
Offensive Line will be about the tackles.
Even if Renfro gets hurt you have McMillan. If the tackles are underwhelming, we’re going to struggle.
We certainly can beat Iowa, especially at home. But I don't think we will beat Iowa. They lost a lot of talent, but they brought a lot back as well and always have guys in place to reload. Barring a lot of injuries they are a 9 or 10 win team, per usual
I can't argue with that. But Renfro's experience and line calls will make everything on the O-Line gel nicely.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
I just don’t see it. Even in Iowa, the general consensus is they aren’t as good as previous years and have a lot of questions-particularly at quarterback.
Their O-Line and run game will be tremendous.
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- Batavia
Please just win:
UAB
Duke
SIU
Purdue
Michigan State
Northwestern
I will be disappointed if we lose, but we will probably drop 1-2 of these:
Maryland
Nebraska
UCLA
Expecting a loss:
Iowa
Nirvana if we win:
Ohio State
Oregon
UAB
Duke
SIU
Purdue
Michigan State
Northwestern
I will be disappointed if we lose, but we will probably drop 1-2 of these:
Maryland
Nebraska
UCLA
Expecting a loss:
Iowa
Nirvana if we win:
Ohio State
Oregon
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
SP+ puts Iowa at #22 with a projected record of 8-4. It has us at #28 with a projected record of 7-5.
Guaranteed wins: UAB, SIU, Purdue
Guaranteed losses: ORE, OSU
Toss up: Duke, Maryland, MSU, NW, IOWA, NEB, UCLA.
Winning record in the toss ups = 7-5 season at least.
nfw we lose to Iowa at home
I think quarterbacks who are INT prone will struggle with our defense.
TheFlyingIllini1317
- Chicago, IL
UAB
Duke (Must win)
Southern Illinois
at Ohio State
Purdue
at Michigan State
Oregon
at Maryland
Nebraska (Want this win the most)
at UCLA
Iowa (2nd most)
at Northwestern
Going over again this year, 8-4! Hopefully a SEC or good ACC team in a bowl. Will be hard to top that USC win at home and UT bowl win, but this season can be more fun. Just need more picks, 3rd down stops, and havoc which seems to be the goal of the defense.
Think Houser is the real deal, run game/blocking and interior o-line improve, LT worse. Worried about the defense/DL early, but I simply trust Bret, I'm ready to make some noise in the East Balcony on gameday! - TFI1317
Duke (Must win)
Southern Illinois
at Ohio State
Purdue
at Michigan State
Oregon
at Maryland
Nebraska (Want this win the most)
at UCLA
Iowa (2nd most)
at Northwestern
Going over again this year, 8-4! Hopefully a SEC or good ACC team in a bowl. Will be hard to top that USC win at home and UT bowl win, but this season can be more fun. Just need more picks, 3rd down stops, and havoc which seems to be the goal of the defense.
Think Houser is the real deal, run game/blocking and interior o-line improve, LT worse. Worried about the defense/DL early, but I simply trust Bret, I'm ready to make some noise in the East Balcony on gameday! - TFI1317
Agree. solid defense keeps it close. They win when their opponent beats itself one way or another.
With Luke last year and pulling out one close win after another, I feel like the team had star power last season. Not expecting that this year but time will tell.
Preseason experts have tOSU and Oregon as elite teams so I think you realistically have a schedule with 10 winnable games of varying difficulty. That said, even with the questions I think 6 is pretty doable and I wouldn't consider 7 a big stretch. 8 plus a bowl win would be incredibly good IMHO. My scan of the odds puts us at 7.5 which for a casual fan is a team worth following.
Don't know anything about Duke other than they had a good run last year, and see their odds as only 1 win fewer. Should be a good win to set us up for a successful season.
I do think Duke is being overlooked by our fan base by more than a bit. Game will really test our OL and an offense with a lot of new parts and relative inexperience with the Lunney playbook. I also still have a lot of questions about how good a fit Miller is with Lunney when it comes to blocking scheme, and Diaz is a coach that will prey on confusion and weakness up front. If we struggle upfront, this will almost certainly become a very uncomfortable game in a hurry and we'll need to rely on our new defense to show out, stand firm, and be the reason we win this game.
Personally I think that's a bigger ask than it will look on paper with Duke taking a step back, but it will be a big test early. If we get through it with flying colors, this could be another special season, but I expect a nailbiter that hopefully we can just eke out.