The college football season starts this weekend, but Illinois will have to wait a week before the real football begins.
The 2026 campaign starts on Thursday, September 3, against UAB. This is when the Illini look to begin the three-month trek of getting to the College Football Playoff.
A big part of building a resume is taking care of business. Illinois’ non-conference isn’t the toughest in the world, but we do have Duke, which is out of the ACC. On Tuesday, the Blue Devils showed some of their cards before the season started by naming Walker Eget the starting quarterback.
QB1 😈 pic.twitter.com/bioXrbyKR9
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) August 25, 2026
This doesn’t come as a surprise. Eget transferred in from San Jose State, after Duke lost last year’s starting quarterback, and top wide receiver for that matter, to the Miami Hurricanes.
Over the years, Eget’s game has progressed nicely. He spent his first two years with the Spartans riding the pine before being thrown into action in year three. In 2024, he threw for 2,504 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
The 2025 campaign is what got Eget paid, though. He had a big year for San Jose State, throwing for 3,051 yards, 17 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He also had a career-high 59.0% completion rate.
Walker Eget’s experience against power-four teams could help him against Illinois
Eget has good numbers, but you have to take them with a grain of salt. He played for San Jose State, so the competition isn’t exactly the cream of the crop.
With that being said, Eget has played in some games against power-four programs over the last couple of years, and he has done pretty well.
In 2024, he beat Stanford 34-31. Eget threw for 385 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception in that game. Last season, he did all he could against a stout Texas defense. Eget threw for 184 yards and an interception, but again, that is a great Longhorns defense, and Eget didn’t have any help.
Just two games after the Texas loss, Eget went off in a valiant effort against Stanford. San Jose State lost the game 30-29, but Eget threw for 473 yards and three touchdowns.
Eget has the arm to be dangerous for the Illinois secondary. He now has better weapons around him, so that should make him even more of a threat.
Thankfully, Bobby Hauck doesn’t have to worry about Eget’s running ability. We can focus on tearing down his passing ability and getting the victory. While Eget isn’t Darian Mensah, he is a nice option as a replacement. If Illinois can shut down Eget, get the brooms out. It would likely be back-to-back wins over the Blue Devils.
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