Future Schedules

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#3      
mhuml32
Reminder that the 2026 Illinois football schedule was going to be the following:

Non-Conference

Week 1 - Duke (home)
Week 2 - Southern Illinois (home)
Week 3 - Missouri (home)

B1G Opponents

Iowa (home)
Maryland (away)
Michigan State (away)
Oregon (home)
Nebraska (home)
Ohio State (away)
UCLA (away)
Northwestern (away)
Purdue (home)


That was going to be a really hard schedule to get 6+ wins considering the substantial turnover of starters next year. Swap out Missouri for TBA MAC team to create a lot more breathing room.
 
#6      
WeWillWhen
mhuml32 said:
Reminder that the 2026 Illinois football schedule was going to be the following:

Non-Conference

Week 1 - Duke (home)
Week 2 - Southern Illinois (home)
Week 3 - Missouri (home)

B1G Opponents

Iowa (home)
Maryland (away)
Michigan State (away)
Oregon (home)
Nebraska (home)
Ohio State (away)
UCLA (away)
Northwestern (away)
Purdue (home)


That was going to be a really hard schedule to get 6+ wins considering the substantial turnover of starters next year. Swap out Missouri for TBA MAC team to create a lot more breathing room.
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Smart
 
#7      
Fighter of the Nightman
Dan said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1938280211381969135
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I'm probably the only one here who feels this way, but if this won't be a series regularly happening into the future, I actually like the idea of at least one neutral site. Texas/Oklahoma (Dallas), Florida/Georgia (Jacksonville) and of course Braggin' Rights aren't just games ... they're EVENTS because of their location and the 50/50 crowd setup. People rag on neutral site games, but these are fundamentally different than Clemson and Alabama randomly playing in Atlanta in Week One for no reason at all. They're games purposely held in a relevant market for both teams where you are guaranteed to have the INCREDIBLY unique setup of a split crowd and the electric atmosphere that comes along with that.

And my other hot take is that if it is (obviously) in St. Louis, just have it at Busch Stadium. Who cares if it is a baseball stadium?? Football in September should be played outdoors, period. The area around Ballpark Village filled with Illini and Mizzou fans will be an elite pregame atmosphere.
 
#8      
Fighter of the Nightman
^ On that note, I think these are literally the ONLY three games set up like this in all of college sports that occur on a regular basis:

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JMO, but it's such a cool and unique thing to do if you have the opportunity. It isn't very common that you can do it, either, as you need...

1. A neutral market to which both teams would agree. This requires either incredibly easy travel or a truly split market where both teams have a lot of fans.
2. Passionate enough fan bases that will not let the event ever become a flop if one team sucks. In our case, Mizzou has flirted with this some years for Braggin' Rights, but I have never seen a year where the Illini side is not 90%+ full.
3. A stadium or arena IN that market that can adequately hold such an event. This is especially important in football ... Iowa/Iowa State in Des Moines might be awesome in theory, but there is no football stadium there where they could play!

So to sum it up ... I am all for Illini/Mizzou games being in St. Louis.
 
#12      
altgeld88
I'm all in favor of Illinois v. Miznoz in Champaign and Columbia. Old school like '75-'84 then again in the early '90s. My passport is current, as are my rabies, yellow fever and typhoid vaccinations, so I'll be able to travel to one of those road games. Does Columbia have indoor plumbing?
 
#14      
Huggies5
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I'm probably the only one here who feels this way, but if this won't be a series regularly happening into the future, I actually like the idea of at least one neutral site. Texas/Oklahoma (Dallas), Florida/Georgia (Jacksonville) and of course Braggin' Rights aren't just games ... they're EVENTS because of their location and the 50/50 crowd setup. People rag on neutral site games, but these are fundamentally different than Clemson and Alabama randomly playing in Atlanta in Week One for no reason at all. They're games purposely held in a relevant market for both teams where you are guaranteed to have the INCREDIBLY unique setup of a split crowd and the electric atmosphere that comes along with that.

And my other hot take is that if it is (obviously) in St. Louis, just have it at Busch Stadium. Who cares if it is a baseball stadium?? Football in September should be played outdoors, period. The area around Ballpark Village filled with Illini and Mizzou fans will be an elite pregame atmosphere.
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I like the neutral site idea as well. I wouldn't mind seeing at least one of the games played at Soldier Field.
 
#15      
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?
mhuml32 said:
Reminder that the 2026 Illinois football schedule was going to be the following:

Non-Conference

Week 1 - Duke (home)
Week 2 - Southern Illinois (home)
Week 3 - Missouri (home)

B1G Opponents

Iowa (home)
Maryland (away)
Michigan State (away)
Oregon (home)
Nebraska (home)
Ohio State (away)
UCLA (away)
Northwestern (away)
Purdue (home)


That was going to be a really hard schedule to get 6+ wins considering the substantial turnover of starters next year. Swap out Missouri for TBA MAC team to create a lot more breathing room.
Click to expand...
we'll be favored in the duke game I'd imagine (unless something unexpected). MD, NW, PU are all winnable. And then you hope for the best in those 4 other non-Oregon/OSU games. At least 6 wins is very likely IMO.
 
#16      
RandyfromTuscola
TheFlyingIllini1317 said:
I hate having to wait an extra year, would rather have canceled the Duke game.
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No information to back this up, but I'm guessing there are some crossover agreements with basketball and football. Duke playing Illinois in football is a bonus for Duke. Illinois playing Duke in basketball is a bonus for Illinois from a national media/recruitment stand point.
 
#22      
Mr. Tibbs
Ander1345 said:
What does the OOC look like in the 4 years in-between?
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there are no other Power conference games on our schedule after Duke and those games with Mizzou
besides WMU one year and Ohio another, our schedule is wide open.
Obviously, Josh and Bret want it that way.
I would expect another game vs a MAC school most years and likely any given FCS school as well, from MVC or OVC

Depending on how we do W-L wise any given year, expect a neutral site TV payout game vs SEC or ACC school at least once . Personally, I would love a one off vs Ole Miss , Auburn, Tenn, Kentucky or Vandy
 
#24      
MustangWally
Mr. Tibbs said:
there are no other Power conference games on our schedule after Duke and those games with Mizzou
besides WMU one year and Ohio another, our schedule is wide open.
Obviously, Josh and Bret want it that way.
I would expect another game vs a MAC school most years and likely any given FCS school as well, from MVC or OVC

Depending on how we do W-L wise any given year, expect a neutral site TV payout game vs SEC or ACC school at least once . Personally, I would love a one off vs Ole Miss , Auburn, Tenn, Kentucky or Vandy
Click to expand...
Give me Kentucky. They're the only border state we don't play.
 
#25      
OrangeBlue98
For football, I think the default should be on campus games. A Mizzou game in St. Louis every so often is OK, but it’s just a different situation than basketball. I also don’t like the idea of giving up a home game.

Unless the money is just way too good to pass up, I don’t ever want to see us in one of those first week made for TV neutral site games. The idea of playing someone like Alabama in Atlanta just doesn’t hold a lot of appeal for me. I realize others will disagree.
 
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