Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Football: 5 bold predictions for the rest of the Illini 2022 season

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 10: Matthew Bailey #2 of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrates with his team after recovering a fumble for a touchdown during the first quarter in the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Memorial Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 10: Matthew Bailey #2 of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrates with his team after recovering a fumble for a touchdown during the first quarter in the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Memorial Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 10: Pat Bryant #13 of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts after a catch during the first quarter in the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Memorial Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 10: Pat Bryant #13 of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts after a catch during the first quarter in the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Memorial Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

2. Illinois competes for Big Ten West title

This might be the first “what is this guy thinking” bold prediction. If I would have said this a few years back, I would understand the skepticism, but I think Illinois has a chance to make some noise in the Big Ten this year.

Illinois currently sits at 2-1 for the season and 0-1 in the Big Ten. That loss to Indiana a couple of weeks ago really hurts the cause, but there are plenty of games left to make up for letting that game go. This is why I think Illinois can compete for the Big Ten West title.

The Illini only play two ranked teams the rest of the way out. That means seven out of the nine games remaining are against unranked opponents.

There is only one team in the Big Ten West that has a win in the conference, and that team is Northwestern. We know the Wildcats are not a good program. Just look at the result in the last game of the 2021 campaign. They also lost to Duke last week, which is a bad loss.

Iowa is traditionally a contender to come out of the west, but they look bad this year. They are 1-1 this season and have only scored 17 points. They struggled to beat South Dakota State. I also don’t have confidence in Wisconsin. They pounded Illinois State in the first game of the season but looked bad against a bottom feeder in the Pac-12, Washington State, last week. The Badgers would fall to the Cougars 17-14.

Purdue is a pretty beatable team right now. Yes, they have an offense that can pass the ball all over the field, but Illinois’ defense has been stout this season. The Boilermakers are good, but they don’t scare me.

The bottom of the Big Ten, Nebraska, is a mess right now. They just fired their coach after dropping a game to Georgia Southern last week. This is a program that should finish last in the conference.

And then we get to Minnesota. They are probably the scariest team to me right now. The Golden Gophers won nine games in 2021, and they returned Tanner Morgan at quarterback for his 25th season. What gives me hope, though, is the fact Illinois beat Minnesota last season.

It might be a stretch, but I think Illinois has a shot to compete for a Big Ten West crown in 2022.

Home/Illinois Football