It was an embarrassing loss on Saturday for the Illinois football team and there is no sugarcoating it.
Illinois got their butts handed to them for the third game in a row. In the last three games alone, the Illini have averaged losing by 32.6 points per game. That is a sobering stat, but what makes it even worse is the fact that Illinois is only scoring an average of 20 points in those games. They are just getting torn apart right now.
I see a lot people giving up on this coaching regime and rightfully so. It is embarrassing to lose by 30 points to a one-dimensional Maryland team. Losing the last three games in the fashion they did made it easy for people to call for the head of every single coach on the staff. But, I am not ready to give up on the coaching staff yet.
When Illinois hired Lovie Smith, most people knew this would be a rebuilding project. He needed to get some of his players into the program and this would take a few years. Don’t get me wrong, it is extremely depressing losing the way we have been losing. But, I think Lovie needs another year at the helm of the Illini.
There are still four more games left of the 2018 season. I remember many fans saying a four-win campaign in 2018 would constitute as progress for this program. If Lovie can pull off one more win and hit that four-win mark, then I think that would be progress. That would be the most wins he has had at Illinois in a single season.
I am also not ready to give up on the class of 2019 either. I see some people saying is the class of 2019 going to be any good? Listen, the only reason we are ranked bottom of the Big Ten and sub-70’s in the nation in recruiting class is that the total number of players is down. Once more players sign up, that ranking will jump because of how talented the top guys in the class are for the Illini. Marquez Beason and Isaiah Williams, among others, will help this program tremendously year one.
Let’s not forget, Illinois has a big weekend coming up – November 3 – where some talented players will be taking an official visit. I do believe Illinois will finish the class of 2019 off strong and will continue building. I am not willing to give up on that yet.
So, while things are gloomy right now, I am not going to call for the coaching staff to be fired. I think we need to ride out this year and next, and then we can reevaluate the coaching situation.