That makes sense when recruits are commanding that kind of money. A lot of these kids we are bringing in are getting less than 100k. I know we weren’t the highest offer for Konkey. Also for an example I think Wagler was making like 40k in nil when he came on campus
Illini Football 2026
That makes sense when recruits are commanding that kind of money. A lot of these kids we are bringing in are getting less than 100k. I know we weren’t the highest offer for Konkey. Also for an example I think Wagler was making like 40k in nil when he came on campus
Sounds like NFL job of some sort
well, important to know the bar is very low here.
the school heavily discussed, if you watch the interview, is Arkansas. But Arkansas's ceiling this year is probably 2 wins.
So, obviously Illinois is a more winning situation. Chances of reaching a bowl game at Arkansas is less than 5%.
A lot more different at Illinois.
blackdog
- Champaign
QB1 with that processing speed!
Martin O'Donnell absolutely glazing Bart in the latest Inquirer Podcast. Something along the lines of "I know the results on the field the last couple years weren't what people wanted but I've seen him coach in practice and man can he coach in practice."
To quote Moneyball "If he's a good hitter why doesn't he hit good?"
Alex Legion and Hutch were all Americans at practice too. On field results are really all that matter.
To quote Moneyball "If he's a good hitter why doesn't he hit good?"
Alex Legion and Hutch were all Americans at practice too. On field results are really all that matter.
He had all five returning starters last year and those guys looked like they’d never played football when we played IU. Then they turned it on against USC but couldn’t keep it consistent.
He’s got one more shot this year with four new starters in this program (yes some with prior experience). If it is still like last year, he’s gotta go.
There's 3 spots available on the D Line. Not even being a starter very likely implies he wasn't the marquee addition he was thought to be.
It's unfortunate because when we lost all our D Lineman, it was said we would upgrade. That was never my expectation to begin with, but at least figured we'd find competent replacements.
Pair that with a completely unknown kicking game, after losing one of the best kickers in the country, it's unrealistic to think our lucrative record in close games will remain.
I'm higher on the OL than most people. We're bigger, and Bart has been very good with development.
Link? I don't see Martin O'Donnell podcast on the IlliniInquirer YT page.
Martin’s employer just signed a very large deal with the athletic department to be put on a jersey patch……
You should be familiar with the Illinois kicker.
Illini Inquirer Podcast | 2026 Illini expectations with Howard Griffith, Jake Butt and Martin O'Donnell
At Big Ten Media Days, Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner catches up with BTN analysts Howard Griffith and Jake Butt as well as former Illini All-American offensive lineman Martin O'Donnell.
247sports.com
Scroll down to read the note & catch the audio.
The IU game needs to be a wash. Quite possibly the best team we've played in the last decade.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
The "you should see Bart Miller in practice" quotes have officially reached Alex Legion territory.
8 wins.
Realistic? anywhere between 7 and 10.
If they don't win 6, it's a failure of a season. There are 6 "even if we crap our pants we should win" games on this schedule.
They should win 7 even if everything goes against us.
They'll win 8 if toss up games split.
9 or 10 means things have fallen in our favor; 10 if everything goes 100% perfectly. If they win more than 10, either we are severely underestimating the team or the coaches or are severely over estimating the rest of the league.
That 7.5 O/U line is a perfect placement.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Connelly’s SP+ puts us at 7.0-5.0 which sounds about right.
Here’s our schedule breakdown from most difficult to least with our own SP+ ranking included for reference:
D2. SIU
124. UAB
82. Purdue
67. Michigan St
53. Maryland
49. Northwestern
48. UCLA
44. Duke
37. Nebraska
33. Illinois
22. Iowa
2. Oregon
1. Ohio St
9 of the teams we play are ranked lower than us on SP+, but obviously you don’t beat every team that’s ranked lower than you, especially when we’re talking about + or - a few spots.
If we divide up the schedule like this:
25 spots or more below: automatic win
25 spots or more above: automatic loss
Within 24 spots: split 50/50
4 automatic wins. 2 automatic losses. Then the remaining 6 games split 50/50 puts us at 7-5.
I don’t necessarily see 6 games that “even if we crap our pants we should win”. I’d say there’s 4 of those. But still, overall a very favorable schedule.
Super cool! Our QB has spider-man like instinct!
It’s also possible that any of the higher ranked teams could crap their pants. Thats why we play the games.