Illini Football 2025

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#226      
Fighter of the Nightman
lstewart53x3 said:
Ranking the games on our schedule from most difficult to least difficult:

Ohio St
@Duke
@Indiana
@Washington
USC
@Wisconsin
Rutgers
Maryland
Northwestern
@Purdue
Western Michigan
Western Illinois
Click to expand...
I can't even remember my order from the last time I ranked them, but the only SUPER clear things are that (A) OSU is the most difficult and (B) Western Illinois is the least difficult. However, I would probably give them these pretty clear-cut tiers:

Heavy Underdogs ... a win is nothing less than icing on the cake!
vs. Ohio State

A Loss (By Itself) Doesn't Hurt Us ... want to go 1-2 at worst and hopefully 2-1.
at Indiana
at Duke
at Washington

Could Definitely Lose But SHOULDN'T Lose ... losing both of these puts us in "disappointing season" territory, given we likely lost 2-3+ from the above.
vs. USC
at Wisconsin

Need to Win, Period ... if we lose these, we were simply way overhyped.
vs. Rutgers
vs. Maryland
vs. Northwestern
at Purdue

Loss = Disaster ... win or die trying.
vs. Western Michigan
vs. Western Illinois

Winning only those bottom-tier games gets us to 6 wins and a second straight bowl ... but we would all be pretty underwhelmed with not getting a second straight winning record in the regular season for the first time in literally decades with the momentum we have. If you sweep the bottom and at least protect our home field vs. USC, we are 7-5 and can at least find this season to be somewhat of a success. However...

... put me down for the 8+ wins or bust camp. We have a favorable schedule, we have more recruiting momentum than we have had in nearly 20 years and the hype around the potential stability of the program is at levels many of us have never seen in our entire lifetimes. We simply need to capitalize on it, IMO. So, I think for a "successful season," we need to do the following:

1. Go 6-0 vs. the bottom two tiers.
2. Preferably go 2-0 vs. USC and Wisconsin. However, if we lose one here, we need to make up for it with a big road win at Indiana/Duke/Washington.
3. Get 1 win out of the top tiers (or 2 wins if we slip up vs. USC or Wisconsin) to get us to 8 regular season wins. Anything past that is nothing short of awesome. With that said ... I think we can and will get to 9!

I think we go 7-1 in games for those bottom three tiers ... take your pick if we lose a tough road game vs. an inferior opponent (Wisconsin or Purdue) or stub our toe at home when we need a win like we've done a lot in the past couple years, the latest being last year vs. Minnesota (USC being this year's main opportunity for that). I then think we lose to OSU, win at Duke and split the Indiana/Washington games.
 
#227      
GMAN55
Indiana isnt sneaking up on anybody this year, not to say they wont have a decent record.
 
#228      
Genesis
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I can't even remember my order from the last time I ranked them, but the only SUPER clear things are that (A) OSU is the most difficult and (B) Western Illinois is the least difficult. However, I would probably give them these pretty clear-cut tiers:

Heavy Underdogs ... a win is nothing less than icing on the cake!
vs. Ohio State

A Loss (By Itself) Doesn't Hurt Us ... want to go 1-2 at worst and hopefully 2-1.
at Indiana
at Duke
at Washington

Could Definitely Lose But SHOULDN'T Lose ... losing both of these puts us in "disappointing season" territory, given we likely lost 2-3+ from the above.
vs. USC
at Wisconsin

Need to Win, Period ... if we lose these, we were simply way overhyped.
vs. Rutgers
vs. Maryland
vs. Northwestern
at Purdue

Loss = Disaster ... win or die trying.
vs. Western Michigan
vs. Western Illinois

Winning only those bottom-tier games gets us to 6 wins and a second straight bowl ... but we would all be pretty underwhelmed with not getting a second straight winning record in the regular season for the first time in literally decades with the momentum we have. If you sweep the bottom and at least protect our home field vs. USC, we are 7-5 and can at least find this season to be somewhat of a success. However...

... put me down for the 8+ wins or bust camp. We have a favorable schedule, we have more recruiting momentum than we have had in nearly 20 years and the hype around the potential stability of the program is at levels many of us have never seen in our entire lifetimes. We simply need to capitalize on it, IMO. So, I think for a "successful season," we need to do the following:

1. Go 6-0 vs. the bottom two tiers.
2. Preferably go 2-0 vs. USC and Wisconsin. However, if we lose one here, we need to make up for it with a big road win at Indiana/Duke/Washington.
3. Get 1 win out of the top tiers (or 2 wins if we slip up vs. USC or Wisconsin) to get us to 8 regular season wins. Anything past that is nothing short of awesome. With that said ... I think we can and will get to 9!

I think we go 7-1 in games for those bottom three tiers ... take your pick if we lose a tough road game vs. an inferior opponent (Wisconsin or Purdue) or stub our toe at home when we need a win like we've done a lot in the past couple years, the latest being last year vs. Minnesota (USC being this year's main opportunity for that). I then think we lose to OSU, win at Duke and split the Indiana/Washington games.
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Thanks for the groupings which I agree with, Fighter. I know we have several big question marks (how well does the DL mesh, who steps up at WR), but we have so many advantages that I'm going to believe we have to look at 2025 through a different lens that we habitually use (...like I'm not going to set myself up for disappointment again). I believe we'll sweep the bottom three tiers for 8 wins and surprise on 2 of the 3 top away games for a 10-2 record.
 
#229      
BretMyBeachHouse
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I can't even remember my order from the last time I ranked them, but the only SUPER clear things are that (A) OSU is the most difficult and (B) Western Illinois is the least difficult. However, I would probably give them these pretty clear-cut tiers:

Heavy Underdogs ... a win is nothing less than icing on the cake!
vs. Ohio State

A Loss (By Itself) Doesn't Hurt Us ... want to go 1-2 at worst and hopefully 2-1.
at Indiana
at Duke
at Washington

Could Definitely Lose But SHOULDN'T Lose ... losing both of these puts us in "disappointing season" territory, given we likely lost 2-3+ from the above.
vs. USC
at Wisconsin

Need to Win, Period ... if we lose these, we were simply way overhyped.
vs. Rutgers
vs. Maryland
vs. Northwestern
at Purdue

Loss = Disaster ... win or die trying.
vs. Western Michigan
vs. Western Illinois

Winning only those bottom-tier games gets us to 6 wins and a second straight bowl ... but we would all be pretty underwhelmed with not getting a second straight winning record in the regular season for the first time in literally decades with the momentum we have. If you sweep the bottom and at least protect our home field vs. USC, we are 7-5 and can at least find this season to be somewhat of a success. However...

... put me down for the 8+ wins or bust camp. We have a favorable schedule, we have more recruiting momentum than we have had in nearly 20 years and the hype around the potential stability of the program is at levels many of us have never seen in our entire lifetimes. We simply need to capitalize on it, IMO. So, I think for a "successful season," we need to do the following:

1. Go 6-0 vs. the bottom two tiers.
2. Preferably go 2-0 vs. USC and Wisconsin. However, if we lose one here, we need to make up for it with a big road win at Indiana/Duke/Washington.
3. Get 1 win out of the top tiers (or 2 wins if we slip up vs. USC or Wisconsin) to get us to 8 regular season wins. Anything past that is nothing short of awesome. With that said ... I think we can and will get to 9!

I think we go 7-1 in games for those bottom three tiers ... take your pick if we lose a tough road game vs. an inferior opponent (Wisconsin or Purdue) or stub our toe at home when we need a win like we've done a lot in the past couple years, the latest being last year vs. Minnesota (USC being this year's main opportunity for that). I then think we lose to OSU, win at Duke and split the Indiana/Washington games.
Click to expand...
I like your groupings. However, I don’t think a loss in the should win category is evidence of over hype.

I'm expecting to lose one this year that is a real head scratcher. We're good, but good teams across the country are doing that. There's a bit more parity than people realize.

Which explains why we've had so many close games the last three years.
 
#237      
Fighter of the Nightman
BretMyBeachHouse said:
I like your groupings. However, I don’t think a loss in the should win category is evidence of over hype.

I'm expecting to lose one this year that is a real head scratcher. We're good, but good teams across the country are doing that. There's a bit more parity than people realize.

Which explains why we've had so many close games the last three years.
Click to expand...
Yeah, to be clear I also predict a loss to USC, Wisconsin or a team below that this year in my predictions, and I have us going 9-3. So, I certainly agree with you, and it was more of a case of it being difficult to word that, haha. What I was really trying to say is that if we lose said head-scratcher AND lose the "tough games" above that, it would likely indicate we are overhyped, as we would be in 7-5 territory.

But again, I definitely agree that a loss in that tier in and of itself isn't some huge deal ... assuming we can make it up with a win in one of our big road games. If you'll notice the following trend, I practically GUARANTEE that we will have a head-scratching (and/or otherwise disappointing) result mid-season, even if we end up winning it, lol...

2021
10/23 - Win at #7 Penn State to regain some valuable momentum.
---> 10/30 - Lose vs. a 3-4 Rutgers team to zap the momentum away, lol.

2022
10/29 - Win at Nebraska to improve to 7-1 and earn a #16 ranking.
---> 11/5 - Lose vs. a 3-4 Michigan State team on Dads Day in front of our biggest crowd in like 8 years.

2023
10/14 - Win at 5-1 Maryland to seemingly get our season back on track.
---> 10/21 - Lose vs. Wisconsin on Homecoming, blowing a 2-touchdown lead in the second half.

2024
10/19 - Win vs. #24 Michigan on a literally PERFECT, sellout afternoon on national TV.
[Skip obvious loss at #1 Oregon]
---> Lose vs. unranked Minnesota to extend our losing streak to 2 and drop out of the top 25.

The difference last year, of course, is that there were no more disappointments ... we rested up for a bye week, dominated MSU at home, had the thrilling comeback win at Rutgers, handily beat Northwestern at Wrigley and rounded out a 4-game winning streak to end the year by beating #15 South Carolina (one of the hottest teams in the nation) in the Citrus Bowl. Let's hope that momentum carries over seamlessly!!
 
#238      
GatorMcKlusky
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Yeah, to be clear I also predict a loss to USC, Wisconsin or a team below that this year in my predictions, and I have us going 9-3. So, I certainly agree with you, and it was more of a case of it being difficult to word that, haha. What I was really trying to say is that if we lose said head-scratcher AND lose the "tough games" above that, it would likely indicate we are overhyped, as we would be in 7-5 territory.

But again, I definitely agree that a loss in that tier in and of itself isn't some huge deal ... assuming we can make it up with a win in one of our big road games. If you'll notice the following trend, I practically GUARANTEE that we will have a head-scratching (and/or otherwise disappointing) result mid-season, even if we end up winning it, lol...

2021
10/23 - Win at #7 Penn State to regain some valuable momentum.
---> 10/30 - Lose vs. a 3-4 Rutgers team to zap the momentum away, lol.

2022
10/29 - Win at Nebraska to improve to 7-1 and earn a #16 ranking.
---> 11/5 - Lose vs. a 3-4 Michigan State team on Dads Day in front of our biggest crowd in like 8 years.

2023
10/14 - Win at 5-1 Maryland to seemingly get our season back on track.
---> 10/21 - Lose vs. Wisconsin on Homecoming, blowing a 2-touchdown lead in the second half.

2024
10/19 - Win vs. #24 Michigan on a literally PERFECT, sellout afternoon on national TV.
[Skip obvious loss at #1 Oregon]
---> Lose vs. unranked Minnesota to extend our losing streak to 2 and drop out of the top 25.

The difference last year, of course, is that there were no more disappointments ... we rested up for a bye week, dominated MSU at home, had the thrilling comeback win at Rutgers, handily beat Northwestern at Wrigley and rounded out a 4-game winning streak to end the year by beating #15 South Carolina (one of the hottest teams in the nation) in the Citrus Bowl. Let's hope that momentum carries over seamlessly!!
Click to expand...
Wasn't the 2021 loss to Rutgers a result of a flu bug that went thru the team the week before the game?
 
#242      
Squad34
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Yeah, to be clear I also predict a loss to USC, Wisconsin or a team below that this year in my predictions, and I have us going 9-3. So, I certainly agree with you, and it was more of a case of it being difficult to word that, haha. What I was really trying to say is that if we lose said head-scratcher AND lose the "tough games" above that, it would likely indicate we are overhyped, as we would be in 7-5 territory.

But again, I definitely agree that a loss in that tier in and of itself isn't some huge deal ... assuming we can make it up with a win in one of our big road games. If you'll notice the following trend, I practically GUARANTEE that we will have a head-scratching (and/or otherwise disappointing) result mid-season, even if we end up winning it, lol...

2021
10/23 - Win at #7 Penn State to regain some valuable momentum.
---> 10/30 - Lose vs. a 3-4 Rutgers team to zap the momentum away, lol.

2022
10/29 - Win at Nebraska to improve to 7-1 and earn a #16 ranking.
---> 11/5 - Lose vs. a 3-4 Michigan State team on Dads Day in front of our biggest crowd in like 8 years.

2023
10/14 - Win at 5-1 Maryland to seemingly get our season back on track.
---> 10/21 - Lose vs. Wisconsin on Homecoming, blowing a 2-touchdown lead in the second half.

2024
10/19 - Win vs. #24 Michigan on a literally PERFECT, sellout afternoon on national TV.
[Skip obvious loss at #1 Oregon]
---> Lose vs. unranked Minnesota to extend our losing streak to 2 and drop out of the top 25.

The difference last year, of course, is that there were no more disappointments ... we rested up for a bye week, dominated MSU at home, had the thrilling comeback win at Rutgers, handily beat Northwestern at Wrigley and rounded out a 4-game winning streak to end the year by beating #15 South Carolina (one of the hottest teams in the nation) in the Citrus Bowl. Let's hope that momentum carries over seamlessly!!
Click to expand...
The 2022 MSU game was the first time I saw a team fake injuries to get extra time outs and change momentum. It is still the most obvious and extreme use of it. They did it at least 15-20 times that game. At the start of the game everyone was doing the supportive applause after injuries. By the end of the game even the most polite fans were booing everytime a MSU player sat down.
The 2023 loss to Wisconsin should have been a win. As I recall Wisconsin got away with an illegal substitution on the winning touchdown. I think that resulted in a clarification of the rule in the offseason.
 
#243      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Yeah, to be clear I also predict a loss to USC, Wisconsin or a team below that this year in my predictions, and I have us going 9-3. So, I certainly agree with you, and it was more of a case of it being difficult to word that, haha. What I was really trying to say is that if we lose said head-scratcher AND lose the "tough games" above that, it would likely indicate we are overhyped, as we would be in 7-5 territory.

But again, I definitely agree that a loss in that tier in and of itself isn't some huge deal ... assuming we can make it up with a win in one of our big road games. If you'll notice the following trend, I practically GUARANTEE that we will have a head-scratching (and/or otherwise disappointing) result mid-season, even if we end up winning it, lol...

2021
10/23 - Win at #7 Penn State to regain some valuable momentum.
---> 10/30 - Lose vs. a 3-4 Rutgers team to zap the momentum away, lol.

2022
10/29 - Win at Nebraska to improve to 7-1 and earn a #16 ranking.
---> 11/5 - Lose vs. a 3-4 Michigan State team on Dads Day in front of our biggest crowd in like 8 years.

2023
10/14 - Win at 5-1 Maryland to seemingly get our season back on track.
---> 10/21 - Lose vs. Wisconsin on Homecoming, blowing a 2-touchdown lead in the second half.

2024
10/19 - Win vs. #24 Michigan on a literally PERFECT, sellout afternoon on national TV.
[Skip obvious loss at #1 Oregon]
---> Lose vs. unranked Minnesota to extend our losing streak to 2 and drop out of the top 25.

The difference last year, of course, is that there were no more disappointments ... we rested up for a bye week, dominated MSU at home, had the thrilling comeback win at Rutgers, handily beat Northwestern at Wrigley and rounded out a 4-game winning streak to end the year by beating #15 South Carolina (one of the hottest teams in the nation) in the Citrus Bowl. Let's hope that momentum carries over seamlessly!!
Click to expand...
Michigan State not even close the worst one. Flat out terrible performance on 4th down and in the redzone. Led to losing 4 of last 5 which was very disheartening. Most talented team in Bielema's time here - underachieved IMO (overachieved preseason expectation wise, underachieved talent wise).

Rutgers was tough because coming off that win vs PSU I truly thought we could make a bowl game (which would've been incredible given it was Bielema's first season, the disaster that was).

Wisconsin was simply one play with Newton.

Minnesota was not too bad because like you said there was no more disappointments. The Scott injury in the secondary really hurt (same case vs Purdue) - don't lose if that doesn't happen.

I just hope if there is that moment we can recover and not let it snowball (like last year).
 
#246      
Fly Illini Fly!
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Michigan State not even close the worst one. Flat out terrible performance on 4th down and in the redzone. Led to losing 4 of last 5 which was very disheartening. Most talented team in Bielema's time here - underachieved IMO (overachieved preseason expectation wise, underachieved talent wise).

Rutgers was tough because coming off that win vs PSU I truly thought we could make a bowl game (which would've been incredible given it was Bielema's first season, the disaster that was).

Wisconsin was simply one play with Newton.

Minnesota was not too bad because like you said there was no more disappointments. The Scott injury in the secondary really hurt (same case vs Purdue) - don't lose if that doesn't happen.

I just hope if there is that moment we can recover and not let it snowball (like last year).
Click to expand...
Not to go down this rabbit hole again, but - best running back in the country, Big Ten's leader in receptions at WR, a QB that's started numerous games in the NFL, the best defense in the country stacked with NFL draft picks left and right. Doesn't happen very often, especially at Illinois.

Really sucks how that year ended, but we’ve improved drastically in terms of late game execution in close games.
 
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#248      
jezzadownunder
Was a dream to get my son some field time at memorial stadium yesterday. He’s a kicker heading into his senior year of high school. Hoping someone gives him a chance next year!

www.instagram.com

King Innes on Instagram: "Great experience getting work in on a B1G field today - Memorial Stadium. 🏟️ Thanks Coach Bielema and @illinifootball for the access! #onepercentbetter #ill #illinois #football #kicker #texas #classof2026 #melissacardinals"

29 likes, 3 comments - kingjudahinnes on June 20, 2025: "Great experience getting work in on a B1G field today - Memorial Stadium. 🏟️ Thanks Coach Bielema and @illinifootball for the access! #onepercentbetter #ill #illinois #football #kicker #texas #classof2026 #melissacardinals".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
#250      
chiefini
jezzadownunder said:
Was a dream to get my son some field time at memorial stadium yesterday. He’s a kicker heading into his senior year of high school. Hoping someone gives him a chance next year!

www.instagram.com

King Innes on Instagram: "Great experience getting work in on a B1G field today - Memorial Stadium. 🏟️ Thanks Coach Bielema and @illinifootball for the access! #onepercentbetter #ill #illinois #football #kicker #texas #classof2026 #melissacardinals"

29 likes, 3 comments - kingjudahinnes on June 20, 2025: "Great experience getting work in on a B1G field today - Memorial Stadium. 🏟️ Thanks Coach Bielema and @illinifootball for the access! #onepercentbetter #ill #illinois #football #kicker #texas #classof2026 #melissacardinals".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
Click to expand...
Wow! How cool is that? Your son made some long and difficult kicks! Good luck in his senior year and recruiting journey!
 
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