Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini win over Wisconsin

5. Illinois is a true Big Ten West contender

I am trying to be level-headed about what I saw yesterday in Madison. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself. Illinois won the game, and I should be happy about that and say, “on to the next game.”

Nahhh, time to overreact.

Wow, Illinois looked really good against the Badgers. This was a huge win. The last time we beat Wisconsin in Madison was November 9, 2002. Yes, just shy of 20 years ago.

I realize that this wasn’t your father’s Wisconsin Badgers. They are now 2-3 on the season, and overall, they are not a great team this year by any means. But it is still Wisconsin, and Illinois came out victorious.

The Illini are now 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in the Big Ten. That 1-1 in the conference might not seem like a great number, but trust me, it is. Illinois is now in a tie for the Big Ten West crown. Granted, it is a six-way tie, out of seven teams, at the top, but that doesn’t matter. Illinois is five games into the season, and we are leading the Big Ten West.

At this point, and with the way things are shaping up with the other programs, there is no reason to think Illinois can’t win the Big Ten West. I think there is a legit shot that we can be playing in Indianapolis on December 3 against the winner of the Big Ten East.

Our schedule is pretty favorable in the final seven games. We play three games on the road, and they are Nebraska, No. 4 Michigan, and Northwestern. The Cornhuskers and Wildcats should be two victories. The four home games are Iowa, No. 21 Minnesota, Michigan State, and Purdue.

I would argue the Boilermakers are the toughest team out of that bunch. They just beat Minnesota. Michigan State isn’t very good this season. Iowa doesn’t have much in the way of offense, so if Illinois can put up 17 points in that game, it should be a victory.

Honestly, in the final seven games, I could see Illinois being favored in all but the Michigan contest. If we can win six out of our final seven games, then I think we punch our ticket to Indianapolis. That would put us at 7-2 in the Big Ten. No team has ever come out of the west at 6-3. Getting to that 7-2 mark is the goal. I think this goal is achievable.