Illinois football beating Nebraska changes expectations and possibilities for 2024

Illinois football has undoubtedly seen a massive resurgence under the leadership of Bret Bielema.

When Bielema took over in December 2020, this program was floundering and had been floundering for years. It was a rudderless ship, a vessel without a captain, and what some would say a lost cause.

But hope never waned for a lot of Illini fans. Bielema was a hire that would hopefully light a fire underneath this program. Year one showed us that was a possibility too.

Going 5-7 in the first season with Bielema at the helm was a nice step forward. What followed in 2022 was something I didn’t think was imaginable. Illinois managed to win eight games for the first time since 2007.

After another 5-7 campaign in 2023, I thought Illinois had a chance to have another good year. Entering the 2024 season, I predicted the Illini going 8-4. But this wasn’t going to be an easy 8-4.

The early season was supposed to be the toughest part of the Illini schedule. While I had the program 8-4, I also had us starting 2-3 with losses to both Kansas and Nebraska.

With those two predicted losses now turning into victories, everything changes for the Orange and Blue. Not only are we going to climb higher in the national rankings, but I think a massive expectation change is in order.

Illinois football went from bowl aspirations to now having eyes for the College Football Playoff

I would have been impressed with the Illini if we had just split the Kansas and Nebraska games. Winning one of those contests would have been satisfactory for me. But now that both games are victories, we need to take another look at the possibilities for this season.

Three out of the next four games are going to get wild for the Illini. We travel to Penn State next weekend. After a bye week, Illinois then welcomes Purdue and No. 18 Michigan. We finish the next four-game stretch with a road trip to No. 9 Oregon.

Honestly, Penn State is not a juggernaut by any means. This is a winnable game, but there is a legitimate shot the national media will flood into Beaver Stadium and this game gets crazy. Going to Penn State is never easy, so I would still mark this as a loss for Illinois. But I do believe it will be very close.

Purdue is next. That should be a win. Michigan isn’t the team they were last season. I think the Illini can take out a ranked Wolverines squad.

Going on the road with a multiple-hour time change against a top-10 team is a difficult task. Falling to Oregon would not be fun, but it would be expected. I think I will still predict that as a loss.

And then the final four games of the season are at home against Minnesota and Michigan State and then on the road against Rutgers and Northwestern. All four games should be wins.

If this prediction goes according to plan, Illinois will have two losses in 2024. Moreover, that means we finish with 10 wins, which would be the most wins since the 2001 campaign when we won the Big Ten.

At this point in the season, it is time to change expectations. 10 wins is not out of the question. Getting to the 10-win mark opens up a plethora of possibilities as well. It could mean we are in the running to play in the Big Ten Championship game. That would be incredible.

On top of potentially playing in the conference title game, 10 wins gives Illinois a good shot at making the College Football Playoff. The top 12 teams in the country each had 10 wins last season.

Winning gives the Illinois football team an entirely new set of standards for this season. I am now expecting this program to get to 10 wins. That is a lot of pressure to put on this program. At the end of the day, pressure makes diamonds.