As literally anyone could have predicted, the Illini came back to Earth a little bit last season once the Schedule Gods withdrew some of their love. Still, Bret Bielema managed to finish the regular season at a respectable 8-4 (I am an Iowa fan; I am allowed to call 8-4 "respectable"), adding a victory over Tennessee in the Music City Bowl to finish 9-4. It's really true: Bret Bielema can beat SEC squads so long as he's not coaching one of them himself.
The Illini managed that feet despite having a defense that didn't distinguish itself in any positive way. If that side of the ball doesn't get better ... well, it may not make a whole lot of difference, given the relative dearth of tossups on the slate.
The Big Question: With a significantly more favorable schedule this season that holds only two all-but-guaranteed losses (at Ohio State and hosting Oregon), can the Illini hold serve and get to ten wins with at least a slight chance of making the playoff? In other words, can Bielema finally turn Champaign into Madison South?
My Guess at the Answer: No, because there's a lot of parity in the B-tier Big Ten teams, which is where the Illini find themselves. Also Madison South would be Stoughton, and there aren't enough Norwegians in Champaign to pull off that transition.
AI-Generated Joke about the Illini:
"Why did the Illini offense cross the road?They didn't—they got flagged for holding, pushed back five yards, and had to settle for a 50-yard field goal attempt!"
This isn't a terrible joke, given that it's topical and on-point, but it's not a good one either because it's overly detailed. If you have to explain the joke, it didn't work. Would have been much funnier as "Why did the Illini offense cross the road? Actually ... it didn't." 2/10.
My Prediction: The Illini do get to ten wins, but only by sucker-punching another SEC team in a bowl game. They'll finish the regular season 9-3.
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