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In the middle of a recent media briefing, while running through injury updates and practice plans, Illinois football coach Bret Bielema paused to offer thanks to students.
In Bielema’s first season in Champaign in 2021, the Illini sold about 3,800 student season tickets, he said. Less than two weeks before the season opener against Western Illinois at Memorial Stadium, the Illinois athletic department announced it had sold out its 8,250 student season tickets, on top of the public season tickets that also sold out.
It’s proof of the excitement building around an Illinois program that is ranked No. 12 in both the Associated Press and coaches preseason polls and is talked about as a potential College Football Playoff contender.
Bielema’s team has its work cut out to fulfill such expectations. As they prepare to kick off their season Friday in Champaign, here are five questions facing the Illini.
1. Can the Illini buck the up-then-down season trend?
It has been a long time since Illinois football has experienced year-in and year-out success. Some of the most memorable seasons of the 21st century in Champaign were followed by losing seasons.
The 10-2 Sugar Bowl team under Ron Turner in 2001 was followed by a 5-7 season. The 2007 Rose Bowl team that went 9-4 under Ron Zook turned into a 5-7 team the next season. Even Bielema’s first bowl team in 2022 was followed by a 5-7 record.
Now the Illini are coming off a 10-3 season with their highest outside expectations in 35 years, in large part because they return 16 starters from the team that beat South Carolina 21-17 in the Citrus Bowl.
The coaches and players are trying to walk the line between embracing the hype they feel they’ve earned and maintaining the work that got them there.
“We see all the expectations,” linebacker James Kreutz said. “It’s…
Source link : https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/25/illinois-football-big-ten-preview/
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Publish date : 2025-08-26 09:30:00
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