Illinois #12 in Preseason Coaches Poll

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#2      
Dan
#3      
mattcoldagelli
Jurassic Park Hold Onto Your Butts GIF
 
#11      
Curbelo Fanboy
PasadenaIllini said:
Why does this make me more worried than happy?
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Because you've lived thru 35 years of collapsing every time there is the slightest hint of expectations for the football program.

2001 10-2 2007 9-4
2002 5-6 2008 5-7
2003 1-10 2009 3-9

Has there ever been another program have such 2 high profile seasons twice in the same decade only to immediately fall off the rails both times. Not to mention the Zooker swan song in 2011 where we started 6-0 only to finish 6-6. 7-6 after we defeated UCLA (and hunger) in the bowl game.
 
#13      
Calvin
Was watching an in-depth preview of the BIG and the analysts had us as a dark horse CFP team, which I think is pretty common amongst the pundits. We have a favorable schedule, but that means we can probably only lose 2.
@Duke is huge
OSU is one we're very likely to be the underdog and we have
@Indiana & @Washington (west coast road trips have been tough on the whole conference)
Also have to take care of business in a lot of games to get 10 regular season wins. Not having PSU or Oregon sets up for a great opportunity to get a good total. Don't have Michigan either, which will have a great defense, and might be decent with their #1 overall recruit at QB.
 
#22      
kyillinifan
The Indiana will be a good game. Wish we had them at home. We played at their place last time and I was at the game. Wish I had a video of the Hightower play in the end zone. From my seat you could not see it. Is there a good video of the play. I haven't seen one.
 
#23      
Calvin
Fighter of the Nightman said:
The Chicken Little Era is over, so I say BRING ON THE HYPE!
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I'm ok with it, but it's crazy to think that the hype is so great that a 9-3 or 8-4 season missing the CFP might be a disappointment, at least to some of the fan base. A lot can happen in a season where a team gets bad breaks, and if things go badly they might not get the credit we'd otherwise give them.

Are we really going to be ranked higher in the preseason in football? 🤯
 
#24      
Huggies5
Calvin said:
Was watching an in-depth preview of the BIG and the analysts had us as a dark horse CFP team, which I think is pretty common amongst the pundits. We have a favorable schedule, but that means we can probably only lose 2.
@Duke is huge
OSU is one we're very likely to be the underdog and we have
@Indiana & @Washington (west coast road trips have been tough on the whole conference)
Also have to take care of business in a lot of games to get 10 regular season wins. Not having PSU or Oregon sets up for a great opportunity to get a good total. Don't have Michigan either, which will have a great defense, and might be decent with their #1 overall recruit at QB.
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The USC game scares me too. They're ranked just outside of the top 25. I know we're at home, but I don't think that game is a gimme. Also, I'm concerned that Vegas set our over/under in wins is only 7.5. That's low for a team people are talking about possibly making the playoffs.
 
#25      
Fighter of the Nightman
Calvin said:
I'm ok with it, but it's crazy to think that the hype is so great that a 9-3 or 8-4 season missing the CFP might be a disappointment, at least to some of the fan base. A lot can happen in a season where a team gets bad breaks, and if things go badly they might not get the credit we'd otherwise give them.

Are we really going to be ranked higher in the preseason in football? 🤯
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I agree, but we will always have some fans with irrational attitudes ... I would rather get the totally invaluable exposure of constantly showing up in these lists and subconsciously training the next generation of youngsters to think of "Illinois Football" as legit. Plus, I do think even our more optimistic fans have been tortured enough over the years that we won't be too disappointed with 9-3 ... I DO think there would be some justified disappointment with an 8-4 record, as that would technically be a step backward from last season even though we theoretically have a better/more prepared team and a slightly easier schedule. With that said, I even think most fans who'd be disappointed with that are going to be able to step back and appreciate back-to-back seasons of winning 8 or more games for the first time in decades!!

I'm sure it will also come down to how we get to those records. If we lose heart breakers at Duke and Indiana but finish the season on a red hot streak (including an upset of OSU) to get to 9 wins, that "9-3" will feel a heck of a lot better than if we methodically lose once every couple weeks, including all of the games that we could most easily make a huge statement with a win (e.g., at Indiana or vs. OSU).
 
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