Illini Football 2026

#352      
therealmiket86
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Most realistic is between 5-7 wins.

So many toss up games, but it's unlikely our tremendous prowess in close games will remain due to: 1) a completely unknown kicking game 2) major question marks in the offensive and defensive lines.
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You must be new here. Apparently it’s easy to replace a kicker that makes 87% of his kicks. With our razor thing margins having a kicker that’s automatic is huge.
 
#354      
Dkayak
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Most realistic is between 5-7 wins.

So many toss up games, but it's unlikely our tremendous prowess in close games will remain due to: 1) a completely unknown kicking game 2) major question marks in the offensive and defensive lines.
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Fear not. He’s very well known and even holds our school record for longest kick at 59 yards. Welcome home!

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Ethan Moczulski - 2026 - Football - University of Illinois Athletics

Ethan Moczulski (37) K - Pronunciation: muh-CHOW-skee 2026 Senior (Illinois) Transferred back to Illinois with one year of eligibility remaining 2025 Junior ...
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#355      
therealmiket86
Dkayak said:
Fear not. He’s very well known and even holds our school record for longest kick at 59 yards. Welcome home!

fightingillini.com

Ethan Moczulski - 2026 - Football - University of Illinois Athletics

Ethan Moczulski (37) K - Pronunciation: muh-CHOW-skee 2026 Senior (Illinois) Transferred back to Illinois with one year of eligibility remaining 2025 Junior ...
fightingillini.com fightingillini.com
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That’s nice but I think he has 2 attempts in his career. Supposedly he pushed Olano in training camp for the starting position so that’s encouraging.
 
#356      
TheFlyingIllini1317
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Chase Brown was also extremely underrated nationally. If we won 10 wins, he'd be given way more stature.

That team had two legitimate superpowers: 1) Chase Brown 2) The Defense.

It was incredibly heartbreaking how that season ended. Very possible we won't see a more talented Illinois football team in our lifetimes.
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I think the most disappointing thing is that. The injuries really hurt us on defense late, and it was probably our best chances to win the league and go to the Rose Bowl. Some guys were young, but looking back it's crazy to see how many NFL guys were on that team.
 
#358      
Mr. Tibbs
IMG_1217.jpeg

those were the days
 
#359      
Bbuck21
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Chase Brown was also extremely underrated nationally. If we won 10 wins, he'd be given way more stature.

That team had two legitimate superpowers: 1) Chase Brown 2) The Defense.

It was incredibly heartbreaking how that season ended. Very possible we won't see a more talented Illinois football team in our lifetimes.
Click to expand...
(y)
 
#360      
zentrails
Dkayak said:
Fear not. He’s very well known and even holds our school record for longest kick at 59 yards. Welcome home!

fightingillini.com

Ethan Moczulski - 2026 - Football - University of Illinois Athletics

Ethan Moczulski (37) K - Pronunciation: muh-CHOW-skee 2026 Senior (Illinois) Transferred back to Illinois with one year of eligibility remaining 2025 Junior ...
fightingillini.com fightingillini.com
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"KO specialist" - that alone makes him valuable, IMO, hopefully he kicks it consistently out of the end zone this season
 
#361      
EmeraldCityIllini
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Most realistic is between 5-7 wins.

So many toss up games, but it's unlikely our tremendous prowess in close games will remain due to: 1) a completely unknown kicking game 2) major question marks in the offensive and defensive lines.
Click to expand...

5 wins and people probably need to be fired. 6 wins and questions need to be asked if they should be fired.

UAB, Duke, and Southern Illinois all at home as is 3 wins.

Assuming you'd win the first 3 (as you 100% should), 5 wins would mean going 2 - 7 in B1G. Seeing as Purdue would most likely be the 1, that would mean you only beat one of NW, Maryland, Nebraska, Michigan State, and UCLA.
 
#362      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
EmeraldCityIllini said:
UAB, Duke, and Southern Illinois all at home as is 3 wins.

Assuming you'd win the first 3 (as you 100% should), 5 wins would mean going 2 - 7 in B1G. Seeing as Purdue would most likely be the 1, that would mean you only beat one of NW, Maryland, Nebraska, Michigan State, and UCLA.
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Duke is no gimme at all. Our OLine always struggles out of the gate.
 
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