Illini Football 2026

#252      
lstewart53x3
To the Illini media who took part in the narrative that Oregon wasn’t all that good anyways when we beat them last week (*ahem* Illini inquirer), what a bad take.

Here’s who Oregon has played since Moore went down (rankings via SP+):

#19 USC
#17 UCLA
#15 Nebraska
#48 Illinois
#20 Nebraska

In the SEC, 4 of those 5 teams would be ranked. Oregon went 3-2 in that stretch with one of their losses to us.

Even as the pre-season expectations start to fade in the analytics, Oregon’s still #12 in SP+.

So I don’t want hear any qualifiers when discussing that win. It was a great one.
 
#254      
DeonThomas
lstewart53x3 said:
To the Illini media who took part in the narrative that Oregon wasn’t all that good anyways when we beat them last week (*ahem* Illini inquirer), what a bad take.

Here’s who Oregon has played since Moore went down (rankings via SP+):

#19 USC
#17 UCLA
#15 Nebraska
#48 Illinois
#20 Nebraska

In the SEC, 4 of those 5 teams would be ranked. Oregon went 3-2 in that stretch with one of their losses to us.

Even as the pre-season expectations start to fade in the analytics, Oregon’s still #12 in SP+.

So I don’t want hear any qualifiers when discussing that win. It was a great one.
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With Northwestern replacing Nebraska #2, of course.............
 
#255      
BZuppke
Hardest game left: Iowa. I hate them but they are solid and well coached.
 
#258      
Illini2010-11
BZuppke said:
Hardest game left: Iowa. I hate them but they are solid and well coached.
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I think @UCLA is the hardest games left on the schedule. They will be top 5 when we face them (if they win in Minneapolis), and somewhere in the top 15 at worst. For the remaining games, my list ranked from hardest to easiest:

1) @UCLA
2) Iowa
3) @NW
4) Nebraska

I think we matchup with Nebraska the best, and their offense has really struggled.
 
#259      
RabidDawgClassic
Illini2010-11 said:
I think @UCLA is the hardest games left on the schedule. They will be top 5 when we face them (if they win in Minneapolis), and somewhere in the top 15 at worst. For the remaining games, my list ranked from hardest to easiest:

1) @UCLA
2) Iowa
3) @NW
4) Nebraska

I think we matchup with Nebraska the best, and their offense has really struggled.
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UCLA will lose at Minnesota next week. They’re 7-0 with a weak schedule that looks tougher on paper than it actually is.
 
#260      
ChiefGritty
This argument is funny because our four remaining opponents are literally within 8 spots and 4 "points" of each other in the SP+ rankings.


It's all about health, rest, and motivation levels for me. UCLA profiles as a huge trap game for them, so long as they beat Minny (which you really get the feeling they probably won't)

We're fairly significant underdogs in all four, let's be clear.
 
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