For B10—SEC purposes, I’d rather get behind Ohio State and root for them against Texas.
But definitely not rooting for Michigan.
College Sports (Football)
But definitely not rooting for Michigan.
Or what about, Oklahoma curb stomps Michigan and they both go winless in conference play??
Illini92and96
- Austin, TX
Living in enemy territory I have to defend the BIG (and the Illini) all the time. I'll take all the ammo I can get. Beating OU and then sucking in the BIG would be a disaster for Michigan, so it's not like an OU win saves their season. The Horns have been my adopted home town team for 29 years, so I can't root against them!
I've genuinely never seen an easier Big Ten schedule than Penn State.
They can be completely average and just walk into 9-3 (at worst).
And if you're a great team, you're 12-0 with very little competition.
Just gross.
They can be completely average and just walk into 9-3 (at worst).
And if you're a great team, you're 12-0 with very little competition.
Just gross.
Similar situation here. Moved to Georgia 27 years ago. Live 20 miles outside Athens. Daughter graduated from UGA so they are my adopted local team. Many talk graciously about the Illini. Most absolutely hate Ohio State. .
You want the big ten to go undefeated in non conference play so there is an argument for 4-5 teams to get into the playoff.
The media narrative is starting to change. CFP and bowl records last two years have shifted things.
Illini winning against SC and Tenn contributes to that.
Never been a better chance for the Illini to get in as the 4th or 5th big ten team.
Now they have to make it happen.
Dead serious - if Penn State had this schedule last year, I think they're going 12-0.
Their team fell apart due to public scrutinty and horrid media narratives, for losing to Oregon. Another "big game" loss, the media went crazy, and their locker room broke.
They played toe to toe with Oregon into overtime, and were a 4th down stop away from winning. It was a very good team.
Allar getting hurt did throw a wrench into things, so that's probably a counterpoint.
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One of the biggest surprises of 2025 was to see them at 3-6 and scrapping to get to a bowl game. The first 3 losses were with Allar. It's a huge coaching challenge after a letdown, but when you see a team collapse, that's a really bad sign. IMO one of the key attributes for a coach is keeping the team motivated and not let them get too high or too low. When I think of some of the best in the business over the years, they've kept their teams competitive by developing players mentally and fostering a culture that strives higher whether they win or lose. BB and BU for that matter have both been punching above their weight IMHO.
Allar was an extremely underwhelming QB in my opinion. I genuinely think if Penn State and us swapped QBs last year, Penn State would've been in the college playoffs and we would've struggled to make a bowl. Allar in my opinion was a byproduct of a strong OL. It's a lot easier to QB behind a line that gives you 5 seconds than one that gives you less than 2 seconds. I think Allar's ceiling is pretty much Trent Dilfer- game manager who so long as you have a strong OL won't lose the game for you.
Kaliakmanis and Allar, two of the more overrated B10 QBs I can recall
Neither BB or BU's programs have had to deal with the public scrutinty Penn State faced after their Oregon loss.
As soon as that game ended, their fan base turned into a frenzy, calling for Franklin to be fired. The pundits also followed suit. The season was basically deemed a failure in week 5.
The NEGATIVITY around the program just became too much for their locker room.
Before the Northwestern and UCLA losses, they hadn't lost to an unranked team in 4 years (Illinois in 2021).
They were right there with Oregon. Things just unraveled after that game, and it began from the outside.
PSU fans are morons. I hope they are the next coming of Nebraska.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Slightly off topic, but this made me appreciate what we have in Josh Whitman so much. New Purdue AD with an incredibly dumb press conference line that makes me 100% not fear Purdue until he is gone.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Wait, what? Didn’t IU just win a national championship?
I don’t care what field (sports, politics, business, etc) — you’d be hard pressed to ever find a more ignorant statement during an introductory press conference.
Was this an attempt at smack talk for a rival like when Cignetti said something like “Purdue Sucks” during an Indiana basketball game?
But just… embarrassingly awful. Given how badly they’ve been molly-whopped. Hell, even in basketball Purdue can’t seem to beat Indiana on the road.
But just… embarrassingly awful. Given how badly they’ve been molly-whopped. Hell, even in basketball Purdue can’t seem to beat Indiana on the road.
Exactly what he was after and he turned it into a massive self own. Sadder still, his delivery made it clear he meant none of it.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Can confirm that Purdue has never won a national championship in Basketball or Football. I also refuse to look up IU's stats, as that will likely anger me, but talk about a stupid comment that will likely come back to haunt him.