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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/usffan on 2025-08-09 15:54:25+00:00.
The cumulative link to the preseason rankings can be found here.
As we reach the 14 day (two week) mark in our countdown to the start of the 2025 season, we still have 5 SEC teams, 5 B1G teams, 2 ACC teams, 1 Big XII team and 1 independent left to go, and really just one more potential modifier left to add (the AP poll). That team that comes in at #14 is Illinois (high = 10, low = 26). Bert Bret Bielema led the Illini to a 10-3 finish including 6-3 in the B1G, which was good enough for a share of 5th place (highest B1G team to not qualify for the CFP) and a #16 ranking in both the AP and coaches polls. I’m sure it’s not lost on many, and especially not by Shane Beamer, that they start out ranked ahead of South Carolina after their post-Citrus Bowl beef. That was Illinois’ first double digit winning season since 2001. Can Illinois live up to their highest preseason hype since 1990, when they started out ranked #11 and finished #25?
Roster outlook
The Illini return damn near everybody from last year’s team, ranking 3rd nationally and 1st in the B1G in overall returning production. Significantly, they’re also top 10 on both sides of the ball. That starts with QB Luke Altmyer, who threw every single pass on the season after the opener in 2024. They also return RB Aiden Laughery, who was 2nd in rushing on the team, 20 yards behind Josh McCray, who transferred to Georgia. They did lose both Pat Bryant (Denver Broncos) and Zakhari Franklin (Las Vegas Raiders), but return TE Tanner Arkin. On defense, they lost 4 starters to the NFL (DT TeRah Edwards to the Chargers and Dennis Briggs to the Titans, LB Seth Coleman to the Seahawks and Ryan Meed to the Eagles), but bring back leading sacker Gabe Jacas and pretty much the entire secondary. Bielema really is counting on that depth, bringing in the 13th ranked recruiting and portal classes in the B1G. The only contributor on offense is expected to be West Virginia WR Hudson Clement, but he also brought in a whole new DL (Curt Neal and James Thompson from Wisconsin, Tomiwa Durojaiye from Florida State).
Schedule and outlook
Illinois’ OOC looks to set up pretty nicely, with two buy games (Western Illinois and Western Michigan) sandwiched around a road trip to Duke in Durham. Testing their mettle in a road setting is critical, because the Illini only went 3-2 away from Champaign last year, and they’ll have to do better than that to live up to expectations. They open B1G play at Indiana, and whoever wins the Old Oaken Bucket is going to control much of the narrative in terms of potential spoilers/dark horses for the CFP this year. They next host USC (on homecoming!) before their 90 mile road trip to Purdue. If the Illini take care of their business in their first 6 games (they’re currently 3.5 point dogs at Duke and 4.5 point favorites at Indiana), they will set up a ranked matchup with Ohio State coming to town, that will at a minimum get Big Noon and potentially GameDay to campus. They’ll then get a bye before making the trip to Washington, then close out without ever likely getting on a plane again, hosting Rutgers and Maryland, driving to Madison to play Wisconsin, then playing Northwestern. It’s not really a stretch to envision Illinois going 11-1 against that schedule, which could set them up for a B1G championship appearance and an almost certain CFP bid. It’s also not a stretch to see that go the other direction, with a more likely floor of 7-5. I will point out, odd year Bert (5-7 in 2023, 5-7 in 2021, 4-8 in 2017, 3-9 in 2013) could also prove to be a thing…