Illinois Fighting Illini Football 2024
Illinois is coming off a rough - and disappointing - 5-7 season, and it’ll be a fight to be appreciably better in 2024 without a few big breaks. Here are five things to know about the Fighting Illini going into the season.
5. The Illinois offensive line has to be better
Overall it wasn’t a bad season for the Illinois offense - it finished third in the Big Ten - but the pass protection was awful and the ground game didn’t do enough to help control the clock. This bunch has to be far more physical.
4. The secondary has to bounce back
There was always going to be some rebuilding to be done after Devon Witherspoon and Sydney Brown to the NFL, but this year’s secondary needs to be tighter. The transfer portal is helping the cause, but the secondary has to generate more interceptions and more big stops with what it has.
3. The Illinois run defense wasn’t good enough
Bret Bielema teams always work best when they get really, really physical, but that didn’t happen enough with the run defense. Last year the team one when the run defense great, lost when it was gouged, and it didn’t control things like it did in 2022.
2. Where are all the Illinois playmakers?
There’s a weird mix of experience and transfers and untested parts on the Illinois attack. It’s that way for every team - to a certain extent - but most teams have playmakers. Illini QB Luke Altmyer is fine, but the running backs have to break out and the eggs are in the transfer portal basket at receiver.
Now, after WAY too much doom and gloom - Illinois isn’t all that bad - the big positive is …
1. The Illinois schedule is okay
The Illini won’t win the Big Ten, but they should go bowling again with a relatively manageable slate. There’s no Ohio State, USC, Washington, Iowa, or Wisconsin.
That’s a nice bunch to miss, Eastern Illinois, Central Michigan, and Purdue should be winnable, and getting to seven wins and the second winning season since 2011 should happen.