I’d think winning every game from here on out and nice weather would make the two remaining games sellouts.
Illini Football 2025
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And our lowest this year will roughly exceed last year’s average.
I love Coach Bielema’s press conferences. He’s polite, respectful, patient with questions, attempts to understand questions, gives thoughtful and detailed responses with insight, tells interesting stories and tidbits.
I’m glad we have a respectful, likable and engaging coach. I hate when coaches are antagonistic in press conferences.
I’m glad we have a respectful, likable and engaging coach. I hate when coaches are antagonistic in press conferences.
Northwestern is always tough calendar placement, and it is really late this year. Expect rough weather that day, and with some of our fans being still a little less committed than other schools that deal with rough winter weather, the stands could be a little empty for a ranked team playing a better-than-expected Northwestern team.
We also always play them as they've found their stride over the course of a season....
Not entirely out of the question that it could be a ranked-on-ranked matchup to close out the year. They’re @Nebraska, @USC, home against Michigan, and home against Minnesota prior to us.
They’re 5-2 right now. I think they’ll get Minnesota, and I feel good about their chances in the Nebraska game too. I think you have to beat both of them and find a way against one of @USC or home against Michigan. It’s not likely at all, but it’s possible an 8-3 Northwestern rolls into town in the high 20’s. I think a 7-4 team probably doesn’t get there, just given the difference between USC/Michigan vs Neb/Minnesota.
Could lose all of them though, I doubt it but they could.
I think they have also lucked out in that they caught UCLA right before they fired their coach, played PSU when they were falling apart, and then got to play a Purdue team that is starting to revert to old ways.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Yeah, I think it’s more likely Northwestern loses 3 of the next 4 than wins 3 of the next 4.
A three loss Ole Miss is not topping a 10-2 Illinois. Not happening.
A few teams this could apply, but heavily depends on the specific team (and schedule).
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I think likeliest NW loses out. Much tougher backhalf than their first games.
Yeah I don't understand the pro-SEC bias affecting some on this site!
Ole Miss's best win is a 1-score victory over LSU at home. That win is not going to look any better, and may well look worse, than our win vs USC when it's all said and done (same with our win over Washington in the scenario where we go 10-2). Other one-score victories include powerhouses like Kentucky, Arkansas, and Washington St. To go 9-3 they'd have to lose to Oklahoma and one of South Carolina, Florida, Miss St, or Citadel. Those are not good teams!
None of these other potential 9-3 SEC teams have great marquee wins either. It's all smoke and mirrors.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
We are literally Wisconsin.
Wisconsin in the 4 years before 2022 (2018-2021):
31-16*
Illinois in the 4 years since 2022 (2022-2025):
32-17*
*Wisconsin went 4-3 in the COVID year.
*I marked us down for 9-3 this year to better compare records through a half season. Subject to change, of course, depending on how the season plays out.
Now you have former Wisconsin player, JJ Watt, sharing why Illinois is so successful under Bret:
Wisconsin in the 4 years before 2022 (2018-2021):
31-16*
Illinois in the 4 years since 2022 (2022-2025):
32-17*
*Wisconsin went 4-3 in the COVID year.
*I marked us down for 9-3 this year to better compare records through a half season. Subject to change, of course, depending on how the season plays out.
Now you have former Wisconsin player, JJ Watt, sharing why Illinois is so successful under Bret:
They went to GA and lost by 8.
We went to IN and lost by 53.
That outcome is going to matter, whether we like it or not. We haven't beaten anyone of note, nor has Iowa, Minnesota, etc.
The conference, this year, has no depth. The opportunity to erase the IN debacle was the home game vs OSU and we lost by almost three TDs.
USC, at home, is our only win versus a team that ever touched the top 25.
After Washington, we don't have one game on our schedule where a win doesn't really means anything other than....it's not a loss versus an average to below average team.
The two teams that we played that are actually still in the top 25, we lost by a combined 71 points. That means something. We can excuse our way around it, but in the big picture, when you're comparing good, but not great teams.....us getting smashed on national TV is going to be a deal breaker.
If we lose to Washington, we're talking about trying to get a warm weather bowl game.
Yes that outcome matters, but does it matter so much that they'd get in at 9-3 over us at 10-2? Is that one loss really the equivalent of two losses for Ole Miss?
Ok, but to use the Ole Miss example again, look at their schedule. If they get to 3 losses they're probably losing to Oklahoma. Their best win would be LSU. LSU still has to play Bama, TAMU, and Oklahoma, and already has 2 losses. LSU will not end the season ranked. USC might. So in what possible way would a 9-3 Ole Miss have a better resume than 10-2 Illinois?
You make an excellent point, but SOS has to come into play, right? Does the initial CFP rankings take that into consideration? We'll know for sure at that point.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Ole Miss’s SOS isn’t that strong. ESPN’s FPI, which is a metric used by the committee, has Ole Miss with the 25th ranked SOS so far and 45th the rest of the way.
Our current SOS is ranked 6th and 65th the rest of the way.
So we’ll likely end up about even, if not a little higher than Ole Miss in SOS.
2025 Resume College Football Power Index - ESPN
View the 2025 Resume College Football power index on ESPN. The FPI is the best predictor of a team's performance of the season.
I don’t fall for the SEC teams being ranked high by ESPN trick. Alabama lost to a Florida St team that doesn’t have a win in the ACC since 2023. That has to account for something. We beat Duke. Duke is better than Florida State. Florida State beat Alabama. Alabama is beating the whole SEC. That has to account for something.
Here is a list of top 10 SEC and BT teams. If they all play I like the BT chances of winning 5 or more games. I don’t buy the SEC has better teams argument. They have gotten crushed in the post season the last two years and I bet it happens this year again.
OSU. Alabama
Indiana. Georgia
Oregon. Texas AM
Illinois Mississippi
Michigan Vandy
Washington. Oklahoma
USC. Missouri
Iowa. Tennessee
Minnesota. LSU
Nebraska. Texas
Here is a list of top 10 SEC and BT teams. If they all play I like the BT chances of winning 5 or more games. I don’t buy the SEC has better teams argument. They have gotten crushed in the post season the last two years and I bet it happens this year again.
OSU. Alabama
Indiana. Georgia
Oregon. Texas AM
Illinois Mississippi
Michigan Vandy
Washington. Oklahoma
USC. Missouri
Iowa. Tennessee
Minnesota. LSU
Nebraska. Texas
SEC wins at least the last 6 there. Probably grabs at least 1 of the top 4 as well. And you’re only talking about half the league, little more. SEC has better depth than B1G, trying to deny that isn’t helpful because the people making the CFP decisions aren’t ignoring that.
We lost by 71 points to the two teams from our conference that are true title contenders. We needed a last-second FG to beat USC. Beyond that, what’s our resume? A battle against Purdue that was significantly closer than the score indicates? Duke game is a good win and will continue to age well.
We don’t know what’s going to happen over the last 5 games but I think all the debate here - accounting for the fact that most all of us are biased towards the Illini - should show you that the people making the decisions come selection day actually have plenty of reasons to not pick Illinois. We’re a good team, not a great team. If we had Xavier Scott we’re probably significantly better, but I don’t think our defense or our offensive line is CFP-quality. Luke … he’s probably the best QB we’ve had in a long, long time, maybe ever, but even so, he’s not going to be able to elevate us enough to compete with the highest tier of college competition.
We might make it, absolutely, but there’s plenty of reasons that we wouldn’t make it over a 9-3 team when we’re at 10-2 (if we’re at 10-2). There’s just too many glaring knocks that make you say “resume be damned, eye test tells you they aren’t there.”
Illinivek23
- Gurnee
Any freshmen ready to start contributing these last few games without burning their redshirt (if that is still projected to be a thing?)
Wyche at RB? WR Trimble? LB Beerman? DB Xanai Scott?
Wyche at RB? WR Trimble? LB Beerman? DB Xanai Scott?
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
When do we get our 3 Rose Bowl wins like they got? Of course that'd mean we'd at least be in the semi finals. That'd be the biggest WOW moment in Illini history.
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
If we are 9-2 I'd say it'll be 55k plus. Maybe a few empties but not too bad. Barring really bad weather.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Wow -- lots of talent and lots of depth when you see these 20 teams listed as such!
9 or 10 teams will rise to the surface by the time the regular season plays out. LSU and NEB may end up at .500 in conference.
I disagree with your premise. The BT is better than the SEC. SEC hasn’t even had a team in the national championship game the last two years. BT has 3 of the 4 and the last 2 champions. The worse team in the ACC beat the best team in the SEC.
I don’t want to hear how good the SEC is until they start proving on the field. And they haven’t done that in almost THREE years.
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