Big Noon Kickoff is running it back for huge Illinois vs Ohio State matchup

While it isn’t the pregame show everyone wanted, it is still the next best option to highlight the rise of the Illinois football program.

Two weeks ago, the Illini had a chance to play in front of one of the top two college football pregame shows in the country. No, it is not the coveted ESPN College GameDay show that fans would love to have in Champaign.

Fox Big Noon Kickoff came to Illinois for the USC matchup. It was great to have that type of notoriety, as fans enjoyed the festivities, and recruits could see that Illinois can attract national eyes.

Heading into the Purdue game on Saturday, it was reported by Scott Beatty that Kirby Avenue in front of Gies Memorial Stadium would have a westbound lane closure from Tuesday through Thursday of this upcoming week.

This news gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, College GameDay would come to Illinois. That isn’t the case, though. Instead, Fox Big Noon Kickoff is running it back. For the second time in three weeks, one of the top two college football pregame shows will be in Champaign to take in the Illini as we play the No. 1 team in the country, Ohio State.

The big announcement came in the middle of the Illinois game against Purdue. I am glad we are getting some national love with Big Noon Kickoff coming to town. Illinois has earned this attention, as we have a legitimate shot at knocking off the top team in the nation.

Maybe Fox Big Noon Kickoff will have a better time picking the Illinois football team this time around

It was exciting the last time Big Noon Kickoff was at Illinois. The Illini took on No. 21 USC, and it was the first game after we had lost by 53 points to Indiana.

The panel on Big Noon Kickoff – Brady Quinn, Mark Ingram, Matt Leinart, and Urban Meyer – all picked USC to beat Illinois. Only one of those four analysts had the Illini losing by less than double-digit points, and that was Meyer, who had Illinois losing by nine.

That obviously didn’t work out for any of them. Illinois won the game by two points on a last-second field goal and had control for most of that game.

I will be curious to see if any of them have the gusto, the marbles if you will, to pick Illinois over Ohio State on Saturday. The stage is set, and now we have the national eyes on Champaign. It is time to shock the world.