Same sort of thing happened with Kansas the last two years. Bret was able to counter it last year.
As soon as duke adjusted their schedule five weeks ago, fully expected Illini to adjust if at all possible.
Illini Football 2025
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As soon as duke adjusted their schedule five weeks ago, fully expected Illini to adjust if at all possible.
if coach B wants it, I’m all in
Also, this isn't unranked Illinois vs a buy game. It's top 10-15 ranked Illinois starting the week off and will get plenty of highlight attention Friday night and Saturday morning.
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
Nice to hear after so many years (decades?) of our scheduling. We'd make an agreement for a home-and-home 3-4 years out with a decent but not scary opponent, only to have them get hot and be ranked by the time we played them. This time it's the other way around.
Pardon the re-post, I've used this before:
Big Ten football stadiums ranked from best to worst
The Big Ten is home to some of college football's most famous landmarks. Check out the stadiums ranked best to worst.
collegesportswire.usatoday.com
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Too low, but as the article somewhat touched on … perception page behind reality. Several more seasons like last year and younger fans won’t remember a time when Memorial Stadium wasn’t iconic. All of the pieces are there.Big Ten football stadiums ranked from best to worst
The Big Ten is home to some of college football's most famous landmarks. Check out the stadiums ranked best to worst.collegesportswire.usatoday.com
Shief
- Champaign Area
I would like to see us in the top 8, preferably top 6. Check out the Memorial Stadium thread if you want to see what improvement ideas other posters have; hopefully the DIA will consider similar thoughts during future renovations.Big Ten football stadiums ranked from best to worst
The Big Ten is home to some of college football's most famous landmarks. Check out the stadiums ranked best to worst.collegesportswire.usatoday.com
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- Batavia
Honestly, it's a very, very good list. I have absolutely no problem with where we are at, especially since we slot in above of Camp Randall. Us being 12/18 is really just a reflection of this being a great conference for stadiums.Big Ten football stadiums ranked from best to worst
The Big Ten is home to some of college football's most famous landmarks. Check out the stadiums ranked best to worst.collegesportswire.usatoday.com
Illini92and96
- Austin, TX
I would have thought Bret would have gotten at least a single vote.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/45026603/ranking-best-coaches-college-football-2025
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/45026603/ranking-best-coaches-college-football-2025
Illini92and96
- Austin, TX
Love from ESPN for the Illini here though. We're ranked #1 for teams to make their first playoff. I'll take it!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ot...&cvid=f79f14cfb5224d0f9919179ba3dc1fa6&ei=135
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ot...&cvid=f79f14cfb5224d0f9919179ba3dc1fa6&ei=135
I wouldn't say he's disrespected. It's a matter of degree. Multiple lists have him as the top, or second best, QB in the conference. Also, you can't disrespect a QB and at the same time rank the team he leads 9th, 10th or 11th in the nation. With that said, I'd agree that he's not getting the glowing reports that we know he deserves. There's a lot unstated about his combination of 10 win season, 3rd year starting, come from behind wins, and overall competitiveness.
Keep telling him he’s disrespected. Let him know nobody believes in him nationally. He’s got a lot of haters to prove wrong. People think he’s not one of the best 18 quarterbacks in the big ten.
decent just isn't good enough in Nebraska. those fans still live int he 1970's and think they should
be competing for a national championship every year. they've fired some mighty good coaches.
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
SampsonRelpenk
- Edwardsville, IL
I’m excited at the prospect, but I am not expecting a CFP appearance. Even if we’re the team we can be, things will have to break our way. I do think that finishing the season ranked is my benchmark for a successful year.
I think if we hover around the top 20 and the CFP convo for the whole season that would be fantastic, regardless of if we’re in or not. If we finish unranked, think that’s not a successful season… if we make a bowl game with 7 or 6 wins.. I’ll be a little disappointed (which is still a step in the right direction having back-to-back bowl years).. if we don’t make a bowl, something really bad happened.
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
kudos:
I agree, I really hope we can pull it off though.
However, I don't think last years team was necessarily as good as their 10-3 record suggests(Bert seems to have a habit of pulling more talented teams down into the mud and winning though).
Last year's front 7 was simply not fast or strong enough and it really showed against Oregon and Penn State. Both teams just ran at will(Penn State would have won by more if they just handed the ball off every snap).
The schedule isn't necessarily set up badly to rack up a lot of wins this year though. Ohio State is the only powerhouse on the schedule( I want that win at home badly). Duke has been pretty solid lately but that should be a winnable road game(I don't think Duke has been as good as their recent records suggest either).
Can't overlook any conference opponent but USC will be a big game. They struggled last year but still get recruit a ton of talent. Also, if we can take care of business at Duke and Indiana(I think both are winnable) it could set us up for a huge matchup against OSU.
DevILLDawg
- Meredosia, Illinois
My biggest worry--though I have been a huge fan of Bret since watching his Wisconsin teams in the early 10s...He seems to win a game or two where he absolutely shouldn't based on sheer roster vs roster talent. BUT he also has lost a game or two each year that you would think we should have in the bag.
I do love Luke, the line, and the backs. But do we have a standout press the Pat Bryant/Zakhari Franklin/Isaiah Williams/Casey Washington button?
Watching the playoffs last year what really stood out to me is those game changers on the outside. I think we have a solid WR core but does Malik Elzy finally make that next level jump? Is the WR from WVU (Hudson Clement) gonna be that DUDE? I think Brayden Trimble could be that guy by his Jr year but as a freshmen?? That's tough
The receiving corps --throw in the TE room, is what will make this a CFP contender compared to just another very solid season.
I hope an insider will come in here and say "This dude is looking ready to make that next step" but right now it's where my doubt lies.
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OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
I think this is a realistic barometer for success, because this would be a significant step forward in the program becoming a consistently sustainable program.
I've seen too many one-off really good seasons followed by a .500 season and then a return to "typical Illinois football". I feel like 8-4 is the "line" for what success looks like for this season. An 8-4 season and a good bowl game would show that the program is moving toward consistent success. Like you, I don't ever EXPECT a CFP appearance. Consistently being in that 8-10 win range with the occasional serious contention for a CFP berth seems like a level the program should be able to achieve.
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
well deserved props:
This is not me saying he is assuredly #1, but I'd feel okay taking Luke against any of those guys. Very, very likely we'll have the best QB on the field in every game we play in this season. That carries weight.
Agreed with this assessment.
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VG breakdown:
in 2024, Illinois went 10-3. But they trailed in the 4th quarter of 8 total games. If you are behind in 8/13 games in the 4th quarter, the chances of going 10-3 is pretty low. Illinois will need to be a much much much better team in 2025 to replicate 2024’s record. I think lot of prognosticators are looking at the 10-3, with the returning starter count and just blindly saying “yep possible playoff team”. Without looking into the real numbers behind the 10-3 and how IL got that record.
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