Illini Football 2026
This is simply too bad to be remotely credible, so it’s not worth reading. For example, compare it to our over/under of 7.5 (same as Iowa’s btw). Does EA has sharper insights than the oddsmakers? If you wouldn’t place a bet based on EA’s ranking, I wouldn’t lose sleep over it either. It’s nonsense.
To be fair, I've thought that 7.5 was really, really generous based on what we have coming back and the change in defensive schemes. If we get to 7 wins this year I'll be really happy.
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Sure, understood. But when the professional oddsmakers differ that much from a single online ranking, one of them is WAY off. EA is the “flier” data point among all prognostications. Never lose sleep over an outlier.
TentakilRex
- Land O Insects between Quincy-Macomb-Jacksonville
Back in the late 00s - early 10s EA made Troy Pollard (or RB 29 as they were known back then) white every single year. And he had massive dreads.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
I remember back when the Sega Genesis game Coach K Basketball featured the white Chris Gandy.
Scott plays the nickel, not corner
Really were a few missing pieces from '23 to '25 that would've put the Illini squarely in the CFP mix. Hill was one, Lightfoot was another.
If they could've just added somebody like Justin Scott, etc. with them, you're looking at 10-11+ wins both years with one or two CFP appearances. It's why you have to keep grinding to get more share of that top 10 in-state. They're doing well enough but there's still work to do.
If they would have been at $15M for 2024 payroll versus $5M.....$25M for 2025 payroll versus $15M.....$35M for 2026 payroll versus the rumored $25M......I would love to see what Bret could do.
I think a handful of the top in-state kids would now at this point choose to stay and play for the Illini since they have begun to win at a good clip, but with the money gap....
I think a handful of the top in-state kids would now at this point choose to stay and play for the Illini since they have begun to win at a good clip, but with the money gap....
I'd be happy to see Carson Boyd get the chance to throw a few "pitches" in Gies Memorial Stadium this fall in a live football game.
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- Batavia
Bought my tickets for the game in East Lansing. We better get a nice win on the road!
I'm surprised and disappointed how few snaps our QB2's have gotten in the last couple years. It's time to get Carson in the game!
I couldn’t be more glad.
QB2 not getting snaps can only mean one thing: QB1 is healthy for the entire season. We’ve been fortunate enough to have that privilege the last couple years.
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If Boyd has a good camp, and some games turn into blowouts earlier than expected…I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him get some time in several games.
I don't understand this thinking. How can we on one hand widely complain about X's injury because he was playing late in a blow out loss, and on the other hand celebrate that our QB1 was in for every play - including the very same blow out loss? Because we got lucky, we should press our luck?
You can't develop experience by sitting on the pine.
Well, you didn't once list "blow out losses" being the lone pipeline for your thinking.
You simply said QB2 snaps played, that you've been discouraged about.
In general, if we just looked at snaps played by QB2 in a season's span -- if they're high, then it likely means QB1 went down. If they're low, then it likely means QB1 was healthy.
.....
On a separate note, X didn't get hurt in a blowout loss. It was a blowout win. Believe Eastern or Central Michigan.
He got hurt at the end of the central Michigan game. Last year very few back ups played compared to previous years. The start was going for style points to try to make the playoffs.
Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
Boyd wasn't QB2 last season. Our QB2 (Hampton) had a lot of experience. Playing QB3 over QB2 in garbage time (even with sound reason) opens a can of worms
There must be a Monster Mash connection...
It's hard to keep up with the SEC and top BIG programs here. South Carolina just got a commitment from a top 100 HS DB - rumor is he is getting $1.5M