Illinois Football: One path exists for Illini to end up in Indianapolis

How did Illinois football go from the basement of college football to being on the rise in one season?

Just one year ago, the Illini were in the midst of a transition period under new head coach Bret Bielema. When he was hired, the program was going through turmoil as Lovie Smith, who was brought in to fix the mess that Tim Beckman and Mike Thomas left, was fired.

Lovie couldn’t fix the Illini, so athletic director Josh Whitman, who was hired in 2016, sought to find the right guy for the job.

In steps Bielema, and in year one, he took a step in the right direction, improving the team’s win total from 2-6 to 5-7 in 2021. While it was far from what the fanbase expected, it was a sign that Illinois could become relevant in the college football world once again.

Two top-25 wins in Bielema’s first season, against Minnesota and Penn State, gave the Illini respect among the local media but nationally was a different story.

Illinois needed to gain more notoriety and make a splash. While it was not a sexy acquisition in the transfer portal, Tommy DeVito was the answer that the Illini needed to keep the quarterback position stable, coupled with the return of running back Chase Brown, who shocked the nation.

Entering week 13, Brown leads the country in rushing yards with 1,582, as more are expected to come his way.

A 7-1 start saw Illinois’ defense become the best in the FBS. Illinois beat Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska in the same year. This was the first time since the 1983 campaign the Illini were able to beat both the Hawkeyes and Badgers in a season. Things seemed to look up for the No. 16 team in the country until they no longer were.

Illinois football has one path to win the Big Ten West.

Three-straight losses followed, which included a failed opportunity to clinch the Big Ten West at Memorial Stadium in mid-November.

Along with its ranking, Illinois (7-4, 4-4 B1G) finds itself searching for answers ahead of its attempt to retain its Land of Lincon Trophy Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT against Northwestern (1-7, 1-10 B1G).

With a win, it would be the first time in over a decade that the Illini will have won back-to-back games against the Wildcats. It will also cap off the Orange and Blue’s best season since 2007, as they went 9-4 with a Rose Bowl appearance.

The Illini will need a win in the season finale, a Nebraska upset against Iowa on Black Friday, and a Purdue loss in Bloomington against Indiana in order to reach the conference title game. If one of those outcomes does not go Illinois’ way, Iowa or Purdue will represent the Big Ten West.