Illini Football 2024
- Status
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
What's happening with Riley at USC is really quite shocking.
One of the best offensive minds in football at one of the easiest schools to recruit to in the country, with one of the most obvious NIL powerhouse situations, how on earth is this not working?
On December 2, 2022 they were #4 in the country, on target for a playoff berth having revealed a generational QB talent in then true-sophomore Caleb Williams and were favored in the Pac 12 title game.
They are 12-12 since then, 2-8 against ranked teams.
Last edited:
One factor is just USC itself. I like to think it’s a combination of the movies The Program and Blue Chips. I can confirm second hand an example or two.
As a coach, Riley might be too nice of a guy. X’s and O’s are great and the team is talented, but soft. Ultimately I think SC needs a sleazeball that can keep the other sleaze balls in line in the town of Harvey Weinstein and OJ Simpson. Pete Carroll was able to do that.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
OT, but I have the utmost respect for police officers ... but as someone who spent a large portion of his life in Iowa City, I feel like college town police can just be REALLY dysfunctional in their priorities.
yeah - this seems like a case that the prosecuting attorney just needs to let go. Obviously not the same situation and I only know what's in the article, but it has some similarities to the Scheffler case. If they're not going to actually prosecute it, then they just need to let it go sooner than later so everyone can move on, save face, and hopefully repair the relationship.
There were only like, what 10,000 people rushing on the field. But you 10 people, stay put, don't move onto the field.
When cops go rogue, they deserve zero support.
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- Batavia
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I assume these are just the dates for the 2025-2027 schedules that already have the opponents announced? I wish they were reshuffling those years, though ... we literally don't play Iowa until 2026, in addition to not playing them this year. That's ridiculous.
I get that the OSUs and Michigans of the world hated the unbalanced divisions because they were both stuck in the East (although real ones will remember that they both threw hissy fits at being in separate Legends/Leaders divisions initially because they were worried it would make The Game meaningless ... well, that's what's going to happen now some years!), but they guaranteed in a larger Big Ten that you at least got to play teams whose fan bases your fans ACTUALLY interacted with. Illini fans want to play Iowa and Wisconsin ... the novelty of a trip to Southern California will wear off quickly.
Also, for a reminder, these are our 2025 games that will presumably have dates added soon. For context, Week 1 is Saturday 8/30 next year (i.e., we still need to fill a first home game).
Non-Conference
Saturday 9/6 - at Duke
Saturday 9/13 - vs. Western Michigan
Big Ten
vs. Ohio State
vs. USC
vs. Rutgers
vs. Northwestern
vs. Maryland
at Indiana
at Purdue
at Washington
at Wisconsin
Since I am quite bored, here's my random prediction (assuming same bye week pattern as this year).
W1 - vs. Western Illinois (or some other FCS)
W2 - at Duke (confirmed)
W3 - vs. Western Michigan (confirmed)
W4 - vs. USC (didn't have to travel to a single Midwest team after October 5th this year, lol)
W5 - at Wisconsin
W6 - BYE WEEK
W7 - vs. Maryland
W8 - at Indiana
W9 - vs. Rutgers
W10 - at Washington (pre-bye week trip)
W11 - BYE WEEK
W12 - vs. Ohio State
W13 - at Purdue (why not end with three trophy games?!)
W14 - vs. Northwestern (after a season of EVERY crowd being above 53k, this doomed game still draws under 45k)
Last edited:
I'm rooting for Cignetti to move on before next year, make that IU game a little easier.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
My prediction:
W1 v. Western Illinois (August 30th - please move this up one day)
W2 @ Duke (September 6th)
W3 v. Western Michigan (September 13th)
W4 @ Indiana (September 20th)
W5 v. Ohio State (surprising Friday game - September 26th)
W6 @ Purdue (October 4th - feels like this is always when this game is scheduled)
W7 BYE WEEK
W8 v. USC (October 18th - measuring stick game)
W9 @ Wisconsin (October 25th - end of the a rough stretch of OSU, Canon, USC, and Wisconsin)
W10 v. Rutgers (November 1st)
W11 BYE WEEK
W12 v. Maryland (November 15th)
W13 @ Washington (November 22nd - deference to old Pac-12 teams playing home games later in the year)
W14 vs. Northwestern (November 29th)
Two hot takes:
1. Purdue and Illinois should work with Big Ten to make the Canon Trophy game a permanent Friday fixture.
2. Big Ten should move to two set rivalry weeks - especially with most conference teams having 2+ rivals. This would allow more schedule flexibility for a couple games. Make it Weeks 5 and 14.
W1 v. Western Illinois (August 30th - please move this up one day)
W2 @ Duke (September 6th)
W3 v. Western Michigan (September 13th)
W4 @ Indiana (September 20th)
W5 v. Ohio State (surprising Friday game - September 26th)
W6 @ Purdue (October 4th - feels like this is always when this game is scheduled)
W7 BYE WEEK
W8 v. USC (October 18th - measuring stick game)
W9 @ Wisconsin (October 25th - end of the a rough stretch of OSU, Canon, USC, and Wisconsin)
W10 v. Rutgers (November 1st)
W11 BYE WEEK
W12 v. Maryland (November 15th)
W13 @ Washington (November 22nd - deference to old Pac-12 teams playing home games later in the year)
W14 vs. Northwestern (November 29th)
Two hot takes:
1. Purdue and Illinois should work with Big Ten to make the Canon Trophy game a permanent Friday fixture.
2. Big Ten should move to two set rivalry weeks - especially with most conference teams having 2+ rivals. This would allow more schedule flexibility for a couple games. Make it Weeks 5 and 14.
This is what happens when there are free runs into the backfield.
If you told me before the season started that we'd be running the ball like Oklahoma I'd be like B10 Championship Game?
Illini in Italy
- Illini HQ, Florida Panhandle
Funny, I read this as every game being a win designed as W1, W2, etc. A second read shows that you are talking about Week 1, Week 2, etc. Can I have the first interpretation please?
The bulk of the Big Ten is the mosh pit of mediocrity.
TentakilRex
- Land O Insects between Quincy-Macomb-Jacksonville
Heard that USC has an odd recruiting strategy, they recruit nationally but they ignore California a bit.
This current class is an illustration.
Heck I would consider poaching Cali kids. USC is not desperately recruiting them plus Oregon, Washington, and maybe the western Big 12 school would be your biggest competition.
For those that have a better idea of how this works than me, what time do you think the Northwestern game will be next weekend?
I'd take Oregon passovers from California.
illinifan4249
- Space Coast, FL
I wish that we didn't play Northwestern on rivalry week exclusively. The 2011 game when we played them for homecoming and came back was so much fun. I wish that game was allowed to float in the schedule. Would also prefer that we either always play the week after Thanksgiving on the road or just end the season a week early.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
And yet, if I'm reading and interpreting the prognostications correctly, PB is not even a Top 50 wide receiver in next spring's NFL draft. ZF is rated more highly?
(Yet, Robert had Bryant ranked in the preseason as our #1 most important player on the 2024 roster.)
CALL ME SHOCKED. I'm not really seeing any of our guys in the Top 4 rounds. I guess that's largely because we're expected to lose so few guys this off-season. Or, it means we could use four or five 5-star players!
- Status