Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
look at all the palm trees in CU:
Illini Football 2025
- Status
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
No perfect place to put this, but the Illini have been ranked preseason in football exactly six times since the 1960s! And of those, we have only finished the season ranked twice:
2008: #20 --> NR
2000: #21 --> NR
1994: #21 --> NR
1990: #11 --> #25
1989: #22 --> #10
1985: #11 --> NR
So, we already have the chance to start the season ranked and finish the season ranked for the first time in 35 years!! However, I wanted to look at the times we have been ranked preseason in both football AND basketball. While it's no sure thing we are ranked preseason in hoops, we were the top team receiving votes last year with a team of all new faces, so I would be somewhat surprised if we didn't slide into the preseason rankings. Also, FTR I am using the "school year" ... so the 2004-05 basketball season actually corresponds to the 2004-05 football season, even though we would often colloquially call those teams "2005 Illini basketball" and "2004 Illini football," respectively.
2000-01: FB #21 and MBB #8
1994-95: FB #21 and MBB #25
1989-90: FB #22 and MBB #9
1985-86: FB #11 and MBB #7
This would be just the fifth time in school history that both our football and basketball teams are ranked preseason in the same school year, and it would actually (presumably) be the first time EVER that both were ranked at the same time but football was ranked higher. Bottom line? This is easily the most exciting time to be an Illini sports fan since the late 1980s, IMO. I was only a little kid, but the ~2001 era where we were technically good at both just felt SO much less stable on the football side of things.
As a comparison of the years leading up to both Bret and Brad having our programs rebuilt, we were dealing with this...
Basketball: 2014 to 2019 (including two years of rebuild for Underwood)
- 0 NCAAT appearances
- 3 losing seasons in 6 years
- 6 straight years of a losing record in Big Ten play
Since then, we have made the NCAA Tournament every single year it was played, we have 2 BTT championships and 1.5** Big Ten regular season championships, we have finished in the AP top 25 in 4 of the last 6 years, we have the second best record in the Big Ten behind Purdue during this timeframe and we made our first Elite Eight since 2005.
Football: 2012 to 2021 (including one year of rebuild for Bielema since 2022 was such a great surprise)
- 2 bowl games (and 0 bowl wins) in 10 seasons
- 0 winning records and 8 losing regular season records
- 0 weeks in the AP top 25
Since then, we have made a bowl game in 2 of the last 3 seasons, we have our first 10-win season in 24 years, and we beat more top 25 teams last season (4) than we had in the previous 10 seasons combined. We are also on the verge of potentially having back-to-back winning (regular) seasons for the first time in over 35 years.
Sorry to ramble, sometimes it is just damn hard to believe!!
2008: #20 --> NR
2000: #21 --> NR
1994: #21 --> NR
1990: #11 --> #25
1989: #22 --> #10
1985: #11 --> NR
So, we already have the chance to start the season ranked and finish the season ranked for the first time in 35 years!! However, I wanted to look at the times we have been ranked preseason in both football AND basketball. While it's no sure thing we are ranked preseason in hoops, we were the top team receiving votes last year with a team of all new faces, so I would be somewhat surprised if we didn't slide into the preseason rankings. Also, FTR I am using the "school year" ... so the 2004-05 basketball season actually corresponds to the 2004-05 football season, even though we would often colloquially call those teams "2005 Illini basketball" and "2004 Illini football," respectively.
2000-01: FB #21 and MBB #8
1994-95: FB #21 and MBB #25
1989-90: FB #22 and MBB #9
1985-86: FB #11 and MBB #7
This would be just the fifth time in school history that both our football and basketball teams are ranked preseason in the same school year, and it would actually (presumably) be the first time EVER that both were ranked at the same time but football was ranked higher. Bottom line? This is easily the most exciting time to be an Illini sports fan since the late 1980s, IMO. I was only a little kid, but the ~2001 era where we were technically good at both just felt SO much less stable on the football side of things.
As a comparison of the years leading up to both Bret and Brad having our programs rebuilt, we were dealing with this...
Basketball: 2014 to 2019 (including two years of rebuild for Underwood)
- 0 NCAAT appearances
- 3 losing seasons in 6 years
- 6 straight years of a losing record in Big Ten play
Since then, we have made the NCAA Tournament every single year it was played, we have 2 BTT championships and 1.5** Big Ten regular season championships, we have finished in the AP top 25 in 4 of the last 6 years, we have the second best record in the Big Ten behind Purdue during this timeframe and we made our first Elite Eight since 2005.
Football: 2012 to 2021 (including one year of rebuild for Bielema since 2022 was such a great surprise)
- 2 bowl games (and 0 bowl wins) in 10 seasons
- 0 winning records and 8 losing regular season records
- 0 weeks in the AP top 25
Since then, we have made a bowl game in 2 of the last 3 seasons, we have our first 10-win season in 24 years, and we beat more top 25 teams last season (4) than we had in the previous 10 seasons combined. We are also on the verge of potentially having back-to-back winning (regular) seasons for the first time in over 35 years.
Sorry to ramble, sometimes it is just damn hard to believe!!
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
Weren't we ranked for the 1983 football and the 1983-84 basketball seasons? I am pretty sure we led the nation in combined victories for those two sports that year. (I was lucky enough to be Block I on the east side 40 for that season.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
For the 1983-84 school year, this was football and hoops:
1983 Football: Preseason NR --> Final AP #10
1983-84 Basketball: Preseason NR --> Final AP #6
So two amazingly successful seasons, but the preseason hype from the AP was missing!
Nice short to the point post.
Man, whenever I see reference to '94 Football I get a pang of queasiness. The most lamentable woulda/coulda/shoulda FB or BB team in Illini history IMO.
After seeing some of his Long Beach tape... I'm VERY excited to see this kid play.
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
What an excellent interview .......I loved listening to Martin when he did the color analysis on the TV for the Illini FB games as he was knowledgeable and displayed his love of the Illini proudly.............He gave me some good insights on what an O-Line player goes through playing on the line of scrimmage..........he really really did.............
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
Bones!
Dan
Admin
It's remarkable how similar this year's schedule is to last year's, even with only 3 repeating opponents from 2024-2025.
For instance- 3 out of the first 5 games are tough tests (games 2, 4 & 5), and 2 out of those 3 are on the road.
Let's go game-by-game-
Game 1
Non-Saturday Labor Day weekend home game vs an in-state FCS program.
(Thu vs Eastern Illinois / Fri vs Western Illinois)
Game 2
Tough early-season non-conference test against a team far more dangerous than was originally thought when the series was setup 10 years ago.
(Kansas / at Duke)
Game 3
Home game vs a MAC team from Michigan.
(Central Michigan / Western Michigan)
Game 4
Road game to open Big Ten league play against a 3-0 team with a very amped-up crowd & shade of red in their color palette.
(at Nebraska / at Indiana)
Game 5
Late-September contest facing a top 10 winningest FBS program.
(at Penn State / USC)
Game 6
Purdue.
Game 7
October home game vs the defending National Champion.
(Michigan / Ohio State)
Game 8
West coast trip.
(at Oregon / at Washington)
Game 9
Early November home game vs a team IL defeated the previous year at their place in epic fashion.
(John Paddock game, Minnesota / Altmyer-to-Bryant, Rutgers)
Game 10
Mid-November home game vs a team coming off a 4-8 campaign that starts with the letter "M".
(Michigan State / Maryland)
Game 11
Late-November road game against a team that went 3-6 in Big Ten league play the previous year with a shade of red in their color palette.
(at Rutgers / at Wisconsin)
Game 12
Northwestern.
For instance- 3 out of the first 5 games are tough tests (games 2, 4 & 5), and 2 out of those 3 are on the road.
Let's go game-by-game-
Game 1
Non-Saturday Labor Day weekend home game vs an in-state FCS program.
(Thu vs Eastern Illinois / Fri vs Western Illinois)
Game 2
Tough early-season non-conference test against a team far more dangerous than was originally thought when the series was setup 10 years ago.
(Kansas / at Duke)
Game 3
Home game vs a MAC team from Michigan.
(Central Michigan / Western Michigan)
Game 4
Road game to open Big Ten league play against a 3-0 team with a very amped-up crowd & shade of red in their color palette.
(at Nebraska / at Indiana)
Game 5
Late-September contest facing a top 10 winningest FBS program.
(at Penn State / USC)
Game 6
Purdue.
Game 7
October home game vs the defending National Champion.
(Michigan / Ohio State)
Game 8
West coast trip.
(at Oregon / at Washington)
Game 9
Early November home game vs a team IL defeated the previous year at their place in epic fashion.
(John Paddock game, Minnesota / Altmyer-to-Bryant, Rutgers)
Game 10
Mid-November home game vs a team coming off a 4-8 campaign that starts with the letter "M".
(Michigan State / Maryland)
Game 11
Late-November road game against a team that went 3-6 in Big Ten league play the previous year with a shade of red in their color palette.
(at Rutgers / at Wisconsin)
Game 12
Northwestern.
SampsonRelpenk
- Edwardsville, IL
This just reminded me how mad I still am that Spoon didn't win it in 2022.
You can't fool me, this is a @Fighter of the Nightman post.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Ranking each game as more or less difficult than last year:
Game 1: Same Difficulty
Non-Saturday Labor Day weekend home game vs an in-state FCS program.
(Thu vs Eastern Illinois / Fri vs Western Illinois)
Game 2: More Difficult
Tough early-season non-conference test against a team far more dangerous than was originally thought when the series was setup 10 years ago.
(Kansas / at Duke)
Game 3: Same Difficulty
Home game vs a MAC team from Michigan.
(Central Michigan / Western Michigan)
Game 4: Same Difficulty
Road game to open Big Ten league play against a 3-0 team with a very amped-up crowd & shade of red in their color palette.
(at Nebraska / at Indiana)
Game 5: Less Difficult
Late-September contest facing a top 10 winningest FBS program.
(at Penn State / USC)
Game 6: Same Difficulty
Purdue.
Game 7: More Difficult
October home game vs the defending National Champion.
(Michigan / Ohio State)
Game 8: Less Difficult
West coast trip.
(at Oregon / at Washington)
Game 9: Same Difficulty
Early November home game vs a team IL defeated the previous year at their place in epic fashion.
(John Paddock game, Minnesota / Altmyer-to-Bryant, Rutgers)
Game 10: Same Difficulty
Mid-November home game vs a team coming off a 4-8 campaign that starts with the letter "M".
(Michigan State / Maryland)
Game 11: Same Difficulty
Late-November road game against a team that went 3-6 in Big Ten league play the previous year with a shade of red in their color palette.
(at Rutgers / at Wisconsin)
Game 12: Same Difficulty
Northwestern.
—
8 games of very similar difficulty.
2 that are more difficult.
2 that are less difficult.
And, if memory serves, the guy who did win it (LT's son?) just got torched in the CFP game they played.
Where can I get that hat?
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
- Status