The Illinois football team is just over a week removed from one of the worst losses in program history.
Guess what, folks, it matters when your entire secondary, first and second string, is out for one reason or another. That is a major reason the Illini lost to Indiana by such a wide margin.
To me, that Indiana game was an outlier. It wasn’t what Illinois is all about. But with that being said, the Illini had something to prove against USC. If we go out there and lay another egg, the detractors would be right, and Illinois would be a fraud.
Illinois didn’t let the ugly loss get to them. Despite a comeback by the Trojans, the Illini managed to secure the victory with a game-winning field goal.
This isn’t a fake good team. Illinois is the real deal. From top to bottom, this team can compete with any program in the country, and what I would give to have another shot at the Hoosiers.
Moreover, what the 2025 campaign has shown to me thus far is that the Illini's success isn’t a mirage. We have gone up against some good competition, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive.
There aren’t a lot of teams that can say they only play two non-power four programs on their 12-game schedule. That is the case with Illinois.
Only two of the games – Western Illinois and Western Michigan – have been non-power four programs. That means we have played three games against power four teams, and Illinois is 2-1 in those contests.
If you really break the Illinois schedule down, we are in the gauntlet part of the 2025 season right now. It all started with Duke, which has now rattled off two double-digit wins over ACC programs. Their only losses are to Illinois and a really talented Tulane squad.
From that Duke game through the end of October, Illinois will play a total of seven games. Six of those are against power four programs. This includes a road game against Duke and No. 11 Indiana. Two home games against No. 21 USC and No. 1 Ohio State. And then the final game is on the road against a Washington team that just has one loss, which was to Ohio State this week.
There has only been one blemish on the Illinois schedule thus far, and we are over halfway through the gauntlet. We can’t overlook Purdue on Saturday, as a matchup against Ohio State looms large.
Luke Altmyer is having an epic season amid a tough Illinois football schedule
While the Illini continue to fight through the tough games, our leader behind center is having one of the best seasons I have seen from a quarterback in Champaign in a long time.
Luke Altmyer went from a below-average quarterback in year one, to a good quarterback last season, to now one of the legends in program history in 2025.
This season, Altmyer has thrown for 1,183 yards and 11 touchdowns. The fact that he has zero interceptions is unheard of. I remember the days when Illinois quarterbacks had more interceptions than touchdown passes.
If he continues on this path, Altmyer is projected to finish with 2,839 yards, 26 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. His legend grows by the week, and there is a chance he cements himself as an all-timer when it is all said and done.