Illinois robbed of representation on College Football 26

I think it is fair to say that Illinois was one of the darlings of the college football world last season.

The Illini had one their best seasons in the past couple of decades, and we managed to take down a team in South Carolina that has one of the best young players in the game. That great young player, LaNorris Sellers, is one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy as well.

With success, you would think more notoriety would follow. That doesn’t seem to be the case, though.

On Tuesday morning, EA Sports released the covers for the standard and deluxe editions of College Football 26. This is the sophomore year of the game that made its triumphant return last year after over a decade hiatus due to lawsuits and players not getting paid for their Name, Image, and Likeness.

The first of the covers, the standard edition, I have zero issues with who is on the cover. EA Sports put Ryan Williams from Alabama and Jeremiah Smith from Ohio State. They are two of the most electric players in the game from two of the top programs historically.

My biggest issue with the standard issue is that Illinois’ logo is nowhere to be found. On what looks like it would be the cover size photo, I counted roughly 26 programs represented with some type of flag, quilt-looking thing, and Illinois is not one of those teams. We won 10 games, beat South Carolina with one of the best players in college football, and the Illini finished No. 16 in the AP Top 25 and No. 20 in the CFP. Still, no representation.

And then you get to the deluxe edition. This will have a variety of players, past and present, fans, mascots, and coaches. The top teams in the country are represented well. I mean, I think Ohio State has at least three players or coaches on the cover. You have representation from teams like West Virginia, UCLA, Indiana, and Toledo, among others. Which program isn’t listed? Illinois, of course.

Illinois had three great options to be on the cover of the College Football 26 deluxe edition

It is disappointing that Illinois doesn’t have some type of representation when it comes to one of the most popular video games on the market. I know we don’t have a Heisman favorite right now, and the program was down for quite some time, but Illinois has seen a resurgence in the past half-decade.

I believe Illinois has three great options for being on the front cover. My top option would be Dick Butkus. You have some old players on there, and I am sure that with technology today, you can get a good picture of Butkus and make it fit in well. He is one of the legends of the game.

The other two options I have for the cover would be Luke Altmyer and Bret Bielema. Altmyer played well last season and has a chance to be an All-Big Ten player in 2025. I think Bielema’s rise in the college game has been of note, too. What he has done with Illinois has been nothing short of a miracle.

My thoughts are to replace one of those random fans, the official, or that Nebraska guy holding a license plate. Get Illinois in the mix. We have earned a spot on the front cover of this video game.