Pretty much my take as well. Which translates into an upset win at Maryland, but a 5-7 season with a bunch of what-ifs. (see 2021)
Illini Football 2023
- Status
I'd be curious to hear from insiders: does this team lack leadership and, worse yet, have dissension in the ranks? Someone commented that they saw Kruetz getting on Pearl and that Pearl wasn't having it. I get this happens during games when tensions are heated, but I just also get a general feeling watching them out there vs. last year that there is very little leadership. That is concerning moving forward.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
i’m not an insider
but I would be more concerned if some players on the OLine were not showing some anger .
Bielema mentioned it in an article that I read. He sees it as a plus.
100% Someone needs to be lighting up the O line, Pearl, Adams, and Crisler included. I don’t think this team is bad and honestly think the offense could be improved but the offensive line is holding them back.
The D line is not living up to its expectations either in my mind.
What concerns me is that those were supposed to be areas of strength and they haven’t been. Bret, Bart, and Terrance need to get them fixed quick.
Champaign Toast
Fan since Kiwane Garris
Out of general curiosity: do the Illini practice in Memorial Stadium?
Most major programs have a facility with 2 or 3 outdoor practice fields. I assume that for practicing outdoors, we use Memorial Stadium in addition to the single field connected to the Smith football center. If so, what is the opinion of the coaches on the two fields not being within view of one another (divided by the East stand)?
Most major programs have a facility with 2 or 3 outdoor practice fields. I assume that for practicing outdoors, we use Memorial Stadium in addition to the single field connected to the Smith football center. If so, what is the opinion of the coaches on the two fields not being within view of one another (divided by the East stand)?
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
Week 5 College Football Bowl Predictions: Brett McMurphy's Projections With Projected Spreads
Check out Week 5 college football bowl predictions, including Brett McMurphy's projections with Action Network's projected spreads.
www.actionnetwork.com
Music City Bowl
Dec. 30 •
Nashville, TN
Florida
-6.5
Illinois
2023 College Football Bowl Predictions - NCAA Bowl Game Projections
CBS Sports bowl expert Jerry Palm picks the teams he feels will comprise the National Semi-final at the end of the season along with bowl projections for every single game.
www.cbssports.com
| Dec. 28 | Pinstripe | 
Louisville | vs.
Illinois | ACC vs. Big Ten | 2:15 p.m. | New York, N.Y. |
ESPN releases 2023 College Football Playoff, full bowl projections after Week 4
ESPN's experts have released their bowl projections following all of the action during Week 4 of the college football season.
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas)
5:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Schlabach: Cincinnati vs. Illinois
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Yankee Stadium (New York)
2:15 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Syracuse vs. Illinois
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Thursday, December 28, 20232:15 pm ET, ESPN
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Last Season: Minnesota 28, Syracuse 20
Bowl Ties: ACC vs Big Ten
Bowl Projection: NC State vs Illinois
Shief
- Champaign Area
I and many of my coworkers would be happy with the Pinstripe Bowl. Our employer is a major supplier for Bad Boy, so many Illinois fans/supporters would be happy with that game.Week 5 College Football Bowl Predictions: Brett McMurphy's Projections With Projected Spreads
Check out Week 5 college football bowl predictions, including Brett McMurphy's projections with Action Network's projected spreads.
Music City Bowl
Dec. 30 •
Nashville, TN
Florida
-6.5
Illinois
2023 College Football Bowl Predictions - NCAA Bowl Game Projections
CBS Sports bowl expert Jerry Palm picks the teams he feels will comprise the National Semi-final at the end of the season along with bowl projections for every single game.
Dec. 28 Pinstripe
Louisvillevs.
IllinoisACC vs. Big Ten 2:15 p.m. New York, N.Y.
SERVPRO First Responder BowlESPN releases 2023 College Football Playoff, full bowl projections after Week 4
ESPN's experts have released their bowl projections following all of the action during Week 4 of the college football season.www.on3.com
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas)
5:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Schlabach: Cincinnati vs. Illinois
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Yankee Stadium (New York)
2:15 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Syracuse vs. Illinois
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Thursday, December 28, 2023
2:15 pm ET, ESPN
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Last Season: Minnesota 28, Syracuse 20
Bowl Ties: ACC vs Big Ten
Bowl Projection: NC State vs Illinois
The Football Uniforms thread explodes...
Tommy DeVito as Master of Ceremonies?
I know making a bowl, but man those locations suck! There ought to be a NCAA requirement that all bowl games are held in warm weather locations . . NYC is about 5 hrs south of me, and I would not attend anything in the Devil's Lair (aka Yankee Stadium).Week 5 College Football Bowl Predictions: Brett McMurphy's Projections With Projected Spreads
Check out Week 5 college football bowl predictions, including Brett McMurphy's projections with Action Network's projected spreads.
Music City Bowl
Dec. 30 •
Nashville, TN
Florida
-6.5
Illinois
2023 College Football Bowl Predictions - NCAA Bowl Game Projections
CBS Sports bowl expert Jerry Palm picks the teams he feels will comprise the National Semi-final at the end of the season along with bowl projections for every single game.
Dec. 28 Pinstripe
Louisvillevs.
IllinoisACC vs. Big Ten 2:15 p.m. New York, N.Y.
SERVPRO First Responder BowlESPN releases 2023 College Football Playoff, full bowl projections after Week 4
ESPN's experts have released their bowl projections following all of the action during Week 4 of the college football season.
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas)
5:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Schlabach: Cincinnati vs. Illinois
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Yankee Stadium (New York)
2:15 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Syracuse vs. Illinois
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Thursday, December 28, 2023
2:15 pm ET, ESPN
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Last Season: Minnesota 28, Syracuse 20
Bowl Ties: ACC vs Big Ten
Bowl Projection: NC State vs Illinois
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
At this point I would be absolutely thrilled/content with a Pinstripe Bowl. We need to just get out there and start winning bowl games. I don't care if it's at Yankee Stadium in the cold. Just start winning postseason games again.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I agree in principle ... but it's easy to get greedy, and the West is just there for the taking for the FINAL time ever! It's frustrating that we could clean up a few things and find ourselves in Indy. And I would be ecstatic to go be the West's sacrificial lamb, haha.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
- Only two teams on Illinois' schedule that are better across all three units: Toledo and Kansas
- Kansas' success is yet another reminder of the power of returning production.
- Easiest road game (by competing talent) this coming week. Have to find a way to beat Purdue.
- Three teams are facing substantial regression through the first four weeks, each is a B1G West team, and each will be a road opponent (Purdue, Minnesota, and Iowa).
- 3-3 is the most likely outcome going into Maryland but 4-2 isn't a stretch.
- Repeating: Beat Purdue. Break the streak. Feather in the cap for recruiting. Help continue their slide.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
And realistically speaking................
if Indianapolis does come to fruition this year, it just might be the last time we play for any type of championship in football. Ever.
if Indianapolis does come to fruition this year, it just might be the last time we play for any type of championship in football. Ever.
Unable to interpret all of these numbers, apologies. Assuming it's great info, but is there a "legend"?
Last edited:
In each group first number is current rank, second is change in rank. Color matches direction, ie, up or down. Groups are total, offense defense,special teams
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Thanks Ken!
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I'd be curious to know if there is any predictive measure for home vs. away and things like that (e.g., a Vegas line of 3 points in favor of the home team is even on a neutral field). For example, using those rankings alone for illustration purposes and assuming the home team is spotted 10 points in the rankings, our remaining games break down like this:
Clear Favorites
#85 Indiana at #52 Illinois (95 - 42 = +53 Illini win)
#93 Northwestern at #52 Illinois (103 - 42 = +61 Illini win)
Slight Favorites
#59 Nebraska at #52 Illinois (69 - 42 = +27 Illini win)
Toss-Up
#52 Illinois at #77 Purdue (67 - 62 = +5 Illini win)
#27 Wisconsin at #52 Illinois (37 - 42 = -5 Illini loss)
Slight Underdogs
#52 Illinois at #54 Minnesota (44 - 62 = -12 Illini loss)
Clear Underdogs
#52 Illinois at #33 Maryland (23 - 62 = -39 Illini loss)
#52 Illinois at #39 Iowa (29 - 62 = -33 Illini loss)
Just for fun using current rankings and this bogus system I just made up on the spot, here are the games we have already played:
#52 Illinois at #40 Kansas (30 - 62 = -32 Illini loss)
#58 Toledo at #52 Illinois (68 - 42 = +26 Illini win)
#10 Penn State at #52 Illinois (20 - 42 = -22 Illini loss)
#97 Florida Atlantic at #52 Illinois (107 - 42 = +65 Illini win)
So, again, using this mathematical exercise that is just for fun, our season breaks down like this (and obviously you could give or take a game from each category and still get a record of, say, 6-6 in a totally different way).
5-7 if we only win the games we are favored in and lose all the tossup games and tougher games.
6-6 if we win the games we are supposed to and also win in West Lafayette or beat Wisconsin at home.
7-5 if we win the games we are supposed to, win the tossup games and Minnesota is a lot worse than these rankings say, and we win in Minneapolis.
8-4 or better if we win the games we are supposed to, win our tossup games AND the teams that are above us in the rankings on this list are actually way over-ranked (especially Iowa and Minnesota), and we can pick up multiple Big Ten road wins.
Bottom line? If we cannot go bowling with this schedule, it will be a very big step back for this program, IMO - a step back that we have all seen WAY too many times before over the years! The wins are there, and nobody on our remaining schedule has not displayed serious weaknesses outside of Maryland (the only game I am mentally preparing myself for a sure loss, for a variety of reasons). Given how we have looked so far and the remaining games, I would consider 6-6 as passing the test with a C, 7-5 to be a B or B+ (depending on other factors) and 8 or more wins as a solid A.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Well done! I follow your logic 100%, and generally agree with your conclusions all the way from top to bottom. And it's another way of mathematically proving what we're all thinking at this point in the season after 4 rather unimpressive games.
In my view we now need the equivalent of that Penn State game from 2021 to turn the tide and demonstrate for the Illini fan base what we're capable of achieving over the full 2023 schedule.
So if this happens AGAIN and we miss a bowl game what’s your reaction?
I'll give you mine- hopelessness. If we can't get over 6 wins with this dogmeat schedule, it'll be fairly difficult to get optimistic about our chances with the tough as hell schedules coming down the line starting next year. If fans want to know what that will look like in a normal year, just swap out 3 of our B10 West opponents with OSU, Michigan, and USC, and swap out PSU for UCLA. That's a 1-3 if not 0-4 stretch most seasons. So just to make a bowl, we'll need to go at worst 5-3 if not 6-2 in our other 8 games. And in those 8 games, we'll face Purdue and probably Iowa or Wisconsin most years? And again, that's just to make a bowl game, not competing for a B10 title. Tough sell for both fans and recruits alike.
The hope would be this is the year we'd finally break through, having winning regular seasons in back to back years for the first time in 33 years, compete for if not win a West Division title, and use that as a recruiting springboard such that we can compete in the new B10. Without a successful season this year though? Things start getting tough. Fast.
So yeah, over 6 wins or hopelessness as far as I'm concerned.
- Status