Illini Football 2026

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#176      
Mr. Tibbs
Dkayak said:
Pick up NB and IA and go 10-2. Overall it’s a very positive outlook. I’d be pleased with 8-4, especially if only two games turn out to be “less than close”. Hard fought losses in which we’re competitive don’t sting like the blowouts of the bad old days.
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8-4 is very possible .
imo, 7-5 is our floor
I just think we will be decent , with a chance to be pretty good .
slight chance to be pretty pretty good
 
#177      
Bucktown
Mr. Tibbs said:
8-4 is very possible .
imo, 7-5 is our floor
I just think we will be decent , with a chance to be pretty good .
slight chance to be pretty pretty good
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8-4 would be great and historic! Illinois hasn't won 8 or more games three years in a row in 122 years. Even 7-5 would be the first time since Mackovic Illinois football has had a winning record three years in a row.
 
#178      
mhuml32
mhuml32 said:
This is an asinine list. I get that these are designed to stoke engagement.

Jack Ham should be #2 on this list. He was a consensus AA in college, multiple time all-pro in NFL, HOFer, Super Bowl Winner.
Lavonte David might be top-5. He played at Nebraska during some terrible years but he was incredible. Future HOFer too.
There are a lot of interesting Penn State, Illinois, Ohio State, and Wisconsin linebackers that could also make this list. I'd especially say it's a crime that Penn State has no representation on this list.


Good luck figuring out what to do with guys like Hardy, TJ Watt, etc. that were excellent modern, edge linebackers. Also, are you only considering players who played in the official Big Ten? Or players who played for current B1G members? Because the latter would add Junior Seau, Ken Norton Jr., and a bunch of interesting USC players.
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Ignore all of this, just realized that Ham would have been pre-B1G.
 
#179      
phats22
Mr. Tibbs said:
8-4 is very possible .
imo, 7-5 is our floor
I just think we will be decent , with a chance to be pretty good .
slight chance to be pretty pretty good
Click to expand...
right on.gif
 
#182      
Battle89
Bucktown said:
8-4 would be great and historic! Illinois hasn't won 8 or more games three years in a row in 122 years. Even 7-5 would be the first time since Mackovic Illinois football has had a winning record three years in a row.
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The only tears we'll cry are tears of joy
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#185      
Dan
"New for the 2026 Fighting Illini football season, Illinois Athletics is implementing a lot-specific traffic-routing system on gameday in order to reduce congestion, improve traffic flow, and ensure quicker, more efficient access to parking areas.
All fans will be required to follow designated traffic routes assigned to specific lots, beginning approximately 3.5 hours before kickoff."

fightingillini.com

Illinois Football 2026 Parking Updates - University of Illinois Athletics

ILLINOIS FOOTBALL 2026 PARKING UPDATES New for the 2026 Fighting Illini football season, Illinois Athletics is implementing a lot-specific traffic-routing sy...
fightingillini.com fightingillini.com
 
#186      
lstewart53x3
Mr. Tibbs said:
the big sports books have our o/u win total at 7.5
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Yes, and Vegas set the under on 7.5 at -160, making the under the favorite.

ESPN’s FPI, which certainly isn’t perfect, but is a data point, gives us a projected win total of 6.7 games and these odds of each record total:
  • 12 - 0: 0.01% chance
  • 11 - 1: 0.25% chance
  • 10 - 2: 2.24% chance
  • 9 - 3: 8.93% chance
  • 8 - 4: 19.66% chance
  • 7 - 5: 26.55% chance
  • 6 - 6: 23.12% chance
  • 5 - 7: 13.17% chance
  • 4 - 8: 4.84% chance
  • 3 - 9: 1.09% chance
  • 2 - 10: 0.14% chance
  • 1 - 11: 0.01% chance
  • 0 - 12: 0.00% chance
According to this, 7-5 is the most likely outcome of any individual record. But if you add up the percentages, there’s a 42.37% chance we go 6-6 or worse and just a 31.09% chance we go 8-4 or better.

Maybe my comment of 7-5 being the ceiling is a big exaggerated but if there’s a 40% chance of 6-6 or below, 7-5 certainly isn’t the floor.
 
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#187      
Scoregasm
lstewart53x3 said:
Yes, and Vegas set the under on 7.5 at -160, making the under the favorite.

ESPN’s FPI, which certainly isn’t perfect, but is a data point, gives us a projected win total of 6.7 games and these odds of each record total:
  • 12 - 0: 0.01% chance
  • 11 - 1: 0.25% chance
  • 10 - 2: 2.24% chance
  • 9 - 3: 8.93% chance
  • 8 - 4: 19.66% chance
  • 7 - 5: 26.55% chance
  • 6 - 6: 23.12% chance
  • 5 - 7: 13.17% chance
  • 4 - 8: 4.84% chance
  • 3 - 9: 1.09% chance
  • 2 - 10: 0.14% chance
  • 1 - 11: 0.01% chance
  • 0 - 12: 0.00% chance
According to this, 7-5 is the most likely outcome of any individual record. But if you add up the percentages, there’s a 42.37% chance we go 6-6 or worse and just a 31.09% chance we go 8-4 or better.

Maybe my comment of 7-5 being the ceiling is a big exaggerated but if there’s a 40% chance of 6-6 or below, 7-5 certainly isn’t the floor.
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That data pretty much sums up my gut feel for the season as well.
 
#188      
Mr. Tibbs
lstewart53x3 said:
Yes, and Vegas set the under on 7.5 at -160, making the under the favorite.

ESPN’s FPI, which certainly isn’t perfect, but is a data point, gives us a projected win total of 6.7 games and these odds of each record total:
  • 12 - 0: 0.01% chance
  • 11 - 1: 0.25% chance
  • 10 - 2: 2.24% chance
  • 9 - 3: 8.93% chance
  • 8 - 4: 19.66% chance
  • 7 - 5: 26.55% chance
  • 6 - 6: 23.12% chance
  • 5 - 7: 13.17% chance
  • 4 - 8: 4.84% chance
  • 3 - 9: 1.09% chance
  • 2 - 10: 0.14% chance
  • 1 - 11: 0.01% chance
  • 0 - 12: 0.00% chance
According to this, 7-5 is the most likely outcome of any individual record. But if you add up the percentages, there’s a 42.37% chance we go 6-6 or worse and just a 31.09% chance we go 8-4 or better.

Maybe my comment of 7-5 being the ceiling is a big exaggerated but if there’s a 40% chance of 6-6 or below, 7-5 certainly isn’t the floor.
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so we have a 55% chance to go anywhere between 9-3 and 7-5.

I’m still thinking realistically we go 8-4.
3-0 in non-con
5-4 in conference
 
#189      
Illwinsagain
lstewart53x3 said:
Yes, and Vegas set the under on 7.5 at -160, making the under the favorite.

ESPN’s FPI, which certainly isn’t perfect, but is a data point, gives us a projected win total of 6.7 games and these odds of each record total:
  • 12 - 0: 0.01% chance
  • 11 - 1: 0.25% chance
  • 10 - 2: 2.24% chance
  • 9 - 3: 8.93% chance
  • 8 - 4: 19.66% chance
  • 7 - 5: 26.55% chance
  • 6 - 6: 23.12% chance
  • 5 - 7: 13.17% chance
  • 4 - 8: 4.84% chance
  • 3 - 9: 1.09% chance
  • 2 - 10: 0.14% chance
  • 1 - 11: 0.01% chance
  • 0 - 12: 0.00% chance
According to this, 7-5 is the most likely outcome of any individual record. But if you add up the percentages, there’s a 42.37% chance we go 6-6 or worse and just a 31.09% chance we go 8-4 or better.

Maybe my comment of 7-5 being the ceiling is a big exaggerated but if there’s a 40% chance of 6-6 or below, 7-5 certainly isn’t the floor.
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Just spitballin' here and I am an optimist, but I would put the numbers about 1 more win higher, meaning, 9 wins, 19.66% chance, etc. What really throws me off is a 1 in 40 chance to get to 10 wins. But like I said, I am an optimist.
 
#190      
Battle89
Illwinsagain said:
Just spitballin' here and I am an optimist, but I would put the numbers about 1 more win higher, meaning, 9 wins, 19.66% chance, etc. What really throws me off is a 1 in 40 chance to get to 10 wins. But like I said, I am an optimist.
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Most importantly we appear to have an infinitely higher chance of a perfect winning than a perfect losing record.

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#191      
Mr. Tibbs
Illwinsagain said:
Just spitballin' here and I am an optimist, but I would put the numbers about 1 more win higher, meaning, 9 wins, 19.66% chance, etc. What really throws me off is a 1 in 40 chance to get to 10 wins. But like I said, I am an optimist.
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I rarely bet on sports . maybe once every 3-4 years . $100-$250 max

that said , if I could get close to 40-1 on Illini winning 10 games, I would readily put down $250. but you would be lucky to get a 20-1 payout on those 40-1 odds
 
#200      
lurker217
What is going on with the price on parking passes for the football games? People are asking $200 - $300 for a single parking pass!
 
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