Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Football: There are still wins left for this Illini program

By Rees Woodcock

MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 20: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith talks with the media after an college football game between the Illinois fighting Illini and the Wisconsin Badgers on October 20th, 2018 at the Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI. Wisconsin defeats Illinois 49-20. (Photo by Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 20: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith talks with the media after an college football game between the Illinois fighting Illini and the Wisconsin Badgers on October 20th, 2018 at the Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI. Wisconsin defeats Illinois 49-20. (Photo by Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Well Illinois football fans, we dropped another game on Saturday to bring our record to below .500.

The Illini made the trip back to Champaign after a beat down against the Wisconsin Badgers, 49-20. Honestly, the game wasn’t as bad as the score shows. Illinois was competitive for the most part. They had it within 11 points in the third quarter. But, Illinois just couldn’t get out of their own way.

Illinois now drops to 3-4 on the season with a 1-3 Big Ten record. The next five contests will be interesting for this program. I think if Illinois plays their best football in all five games then they could win them all. But, that won’t likely happen.

The next game is at Maryland, which is tougher than what I thought it would have been to start the season. The Terrapins are now 4-3 this season but are coming off a 23-0 drubbing against Iowa. Since this would be back-to-back road games for the Illini, I would imagine this might be a loss.

Illinois then gets Minnesota at home. This is one the Orange and Blue should win. The Golden Gophers haven’t won in the Big Ten yet and will likely be winless in the conference heading into this game. Illinois needs to win this game. This is one of those contests that can gauge where the Fighting Illini program is.

Another reeling team right now is the Nebraska Cornhuskers. They haven’t been very good this season. Illinois would be coming off a win against Minnesota and they would then travel to Nebraska. I think the Illini can pull this one out if they just play a B game. I would mark this game down as a “should” win.

Iowa then comes to town. The Hawkeyes are having one of those seasons where they are surprising people. They are ranked in the top 25 and will likely beat the Illini. It would be nice for a massive upset, but I am not going to hold my breath.

The final game of the season is at Northwestern. This should be a competitive game considering both teams are similar to each other. Illinois will have a legit shot at winning this game, but I think it is a coin flip. If the Illini can come out and play another B game, then they will win. But, let’s go worst case scenario and say they fall at Northwestern.

Next. 3 observations from the Illini loss to Wisconsin. dark

I feel like winning two more games is a possibility for this Illini program. That would get them to a record of 5-7 this season. As an Illinois fan, would you be happy with five wins? Would this prove progress? I think it would. I think this would show fans and recruits that this team is definitely heading in the right direction. This season is by no means lost.

Home/Illinois Football