You're right that the past 30 years don't matter. Different team, different culture, different leader. Though I've stuck my neck out and picked 10-2, I have expressed that I'm worried that the two-time-zone issues that teams experienced last year might trump any advantage we get from having a bye week. Sounds like you're confident the bye week will win out. I'm happy to hear that.
Pregame: Illinois vs Western Illinois, Friday, August 29th, 6:30pm CT, Peacock
- Status
He should worry about getting the crap beat out of him by his wife
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
User name checks out, historically speaking anyway.
Last edited:
Im thinking 8-4/ 7-5. It wouldn't shock me to see 3-5 in the first 8 games....its a tough schedule
Are you insinuating Washington isn't as good as some people are saying?
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
If youre gonna go that far, why not just go with 12-0 (15-0 National Champs!) I find it interesting when people allow themselves to dream, but not to dream too big.
great movie
funny scene
This blurb from Robert's three-deep article encapsulates the expectation struggle that many of us are dealing with.
We know we should be happy with a back-to-back winning/bowl eight-win season for the first time in 30 years, but I did not realize we had 12 5th/6th-year seniors on this team. This will almost certainly be the most experienced Illini team with the most returning starters we see in our lifetimes, and those players have had a stable coaching staff/system/scheme for most of their careers. With 2 bowls and a 10-win season, they've also been a part of the best 4-year run we've had in a very long time. Everything just lines up so well this season to be the program-level-up type of year that pushes us into that Iowa/Wisconsin type of consistent success, and we can legitimately dream of doing what our program has never done(have back-to-back double-digit win seasons). I don't think anyone would really complain at the end of the year if we have an 8-win season with a bowl win, but it will undoubtedly be a missed opportunity with everything we have back.
We'll lose a ton next year and likely face a more challenging schedule, so we'll be fighting it out to make a bowl game again. A breakthrough season gives us a better chance to fill in the gaps in the transfer portal to get through next year, to get what will probably be our best back-to-back recruiting classes we've had since Zook in to start our reload. We know we have excellent scouting/player development from there(along with Coach B locked in] to then hopefully go on a run of 8-plus winning seasons. Put me down for 9-3 with a bowl win!!
We know we should be happy with a back-to-back winning/bowl eight-win season for the first time in 30 years, but I did not realize we had 12 5th/6th-year seniors on this team. This will almost certainly be the most experienced Illini team with the most returning starters we see in our lifetimes, and those players have had a stable coaching staff/system/scheme for most of their careers. With 2 bowls and a 10-win season, they've also been a part of the best 4-year run we've had in a very long time. Everything just lines up so well this season to be the program-level-up type of year that pushes us into that Iowa/Wisconsin type of consistent success, and we can legitimately dream of doing what our program has never done(have back-to-back double-digit win seasons). I don't think anyone would really complain at the end of the year if we have an 8-win season with a bowl win, but it will undoubtedly be a missed opportunity with everything we have back.
We'll lose a ton next year and likely face a more challenging schedule, so we'll be fighting it out to make a bowl game again. A breakthrough season gives us a better chance to fill in the gaps in the transfer portal to get through next year, to get what will probably be our best back-to-back recruiting classes we've had since Zook in to start our reload. We know we have excellent scouting/player development from there(along with Coach B locked in] to then hopefully go on a run of 8-plus winning seasons. Put me down for 9-3 with a bowl win!!
Last edited:
Updated Memorial Stadium Sellout Watch tracker for Western Illinois (and beyond):
Ticket sales for the WIU game have slowly inched up, increasing about 1,000 since my last update five days ago. The tracker currently sits at 53,589. I mentioned this is a post yesterday, but with student tickets now being sold out, and enthusiasm on campus presumably being high, I anticipate seeing an uptick in sales these final 10 days. Expecting the announced crowd will approach 55,000.
PROJECTED SELLOUT ALERT: the Western Michigan game is on life support and will be called home soon. I expect it to be announced a sellout within the next three days. Why are sales for that game so much better than the Western Illinois game, you might ask? Yes, it helps that it's a Saturday night and not a Friday night game. But it's really boosted by a comically long list of promotions that are scheduled for that night. Seriously, check out the Promotional Schedule for yourself - it's crazy, I've never seen so many promotions for a single game. The big two promotions in terms of ticket movement are Band Day and the Extra Yard for Teachers. Two free ticket promotions that bring THOUSANDS of butts in seats. And that doesn't include (paying) parents of kids in the bands. So bottom line, it will sell out very soon and will be the second one before the season even starts.
Ticket sales for the WIU game have slowly inched up, increasing about 1,000 since my last update five days ago. The tracker currently sits at 53,589. I mentioned this is a post yesterday, but with student tickets now being sold out, and enthusiasm on campus presumably being high, I anticipate seeing an uptick in sales these final 10 days. Expecting the announced crowd will approach 55,000.
PROJECTED SELLOUT ALERT: the Western Michigan game is on life support and will be called home soon. I expect it to be announced a sellout within the next three days. Why are sales for that game so much better than the Western Illinois game, you might ask? Yes, it helps that it's a Saturday night and not a Friday night game. But it's really boosted by a comically long list of promotions that are scheduled for that night. Seriously, check out the Promotional Schedule for yourself - it's crazy, I've never seen so many promotions for a single game. The big two promotions in terms of ticket movement are Band Day and the Extra Yard for Teachers. Two free ticket promotions that bring THOUSANDS of butts in seats. And that doesn't include (paying) parents of kids in the bands. So bottom line, it will sell out very soon and will be the second one before the season even starts.
I hate to break it to you but the Week 1 NFL game in Brazil this season isn't on Peacock. It's on YouTube.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
I think it would actually be 16-0, right?If youre gonna go that far, why not just go with 12-0 (15-0 National Champs!) I find it interesting when people allow themselves to dream, but not to dream too big.
My guess iOS either 11-1 going into the championship game against PSU at Indy and moving on to the playoffs. Worst case 10-2 and still with a chance to get to the playoffs of Relient Bowl as the Citrus will not invite us two years in a row.
You’d think Google Gemini would know that… but appreciate the correction.
I guess I wasn’t as familiar with ALL that peacock had to offer. It’s even less than I thought.
TentakilRex
- Land O Insects between Quincy-Macomb-Jacksonville
Plus Peacock is losing one of its biggest assets soon.
It's really brutal. There's no reason to have it other than 1 or two football games.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Thank you once again for doing this! Here are my wild-!!! guesses:
54,900 vs. Western Illinois
60,670 sellout vs. Western Michigan
60,670 sellout vs. USC
60,670 sellout vs. Ohio State
60,670 sellout vs. Rutgers (mostly due to Dads Day)
56,700 vs. Maryland
53,800 vs. Northwestern
Four sellouts and including possibly two before the first game would be a H-U-G-E accomplishment for this program considering where we were when Bret arrived. For illustration purposes, if my guess is correct, this would be our average attendance trend under Bret after this season:
2021: 35,347 ... 0 sellouts, 0 crowds above 50k
2022: 43,048 (+21.8%) ... 0 sellouts, 1 crowds above 50k
2023: 49,698 (+15.5%) ... 0 sellouts, 3 crowds above 50k
2024: 54,750 (+10.2%) ... 2 sellouts, 6 crowds above 50k
2025: 58,297 (+6.5%) ... 4 sellouts, 7 crowds above 50k
I'm already paying $90 for YouTube tv which covered 100% of Illini football games until they started putting it on peacock
They're losing most of it though there will still be some WWE related stuff on there.
I know Yellowstone, which is one of the most popular shows right now, is on there (or at least was until recently).
Current weather forecast for the opener is quite good
Also, ESPN this morning listing Illini -46.5 on their book.
Also, ESPN this morning listing Illini -46.5 on their book.
Was looking through the week 0 & week 1 lines and it looks like Illinois is the heaviest favorite across all games currently posted (Penn state is next at -44.5). I know we are playing WIU, and there is still time for these lines to move, but when was the last time Illinois was laying the most points across a whole slate of games?
Last November, EIU beat WIU 45-38.
- Status