We are on the cusp of Big Ten Media Days, and that means we can start discussing where Illinois football could start the 2025 season.
With Big Ten Media Days comes a ton of speculation and hope. Right now, Illini fans are excited about the fact that the team could have another big year after notching 10 wins in 2024.
On top of the already high hope for the upcoming season, The Big Ten preseason media poll was released on Monday by Cleveland.com. Taking the top spot, surprisingly, is Penn State. They got 11 votes for first place, one ahead of No. 2, Ohio State.
Without a doubt, the No. 3 team on the list is Oregon. Penn State, Ohio State, and Oregon are the strong three programs that were always going to be at the top. The rest of the Big Ten was the big question. Who checked in at No. 4?
Illinois.
Despite not getting a single first-place vote, the Illini earned the No. 4 spot. Right behind the Orange and Blue is Michigan. They received one vote to be No. 1 overall, thanks to some homer.
Finishing fourth in the Big Ten is a pretty exciting notion. Last year was a great run by the Illini, but we finished fifth in the conference. The last time Illinois could say we were a top-four team in the Big Ten was in 2007. We finished No. 2 that season at 6-2. There was still the “11” hidden in the Big Ten logo, that is how long ago it was.
New year, same great team, as Illinois football enters 2025 with so much hope
Illinois being considered in the top four in the Big Ten with some of the elite programs is exciting. I didn’t think this was possible pre-Bret Bielema.
Bielema now has this program really doing some great work. The most exciting part is that Illinois returns an incredible amount of talent from that 10-win season last year.
Our starting quarterback, running backs, entire offensive line, and tight ends are all back in the fold offensively. The only issue is at wide receiver, and I think Bielema did a great job filling those voids.
Defensively, our linebackers and secondary are pretty much the same. Illinois retooled the defensive line, and I believe that will be much improved in 2025.
After the Rose Bowl run in 2007, Illinois had a massive letdown season where we missed a bowl game and only won five contests. With so much talent back in the mix, I don’t think that will happen again. Finishing top-four in the Big Ten isn’t just a realistic achievement, it is an expectation.