Five-minute guide to the Illini football season | Sports

From a new coach to a new schedule to a few newcomers, there are plenty of changes surrounding the Illinois soccer team as the 2021 season approaches. Sports Editor Matt Daniels delves into a five-minute guide to the season before Bret Bielema’s first team Illini kicks off the season next Saturday against Nebraska.

Four scenarios

?? 1. Bret Bielema’s return to the Big Ten. This will generate generous discussions on the FOX pre-game show next Saturday and also during the broadcast. The Illinois freshman coach knows what it’s like to win the Big Ten. He just did so in a Wisconsin program that had already passed the rebuilding stage when he took over from Barry Alvarez in 2006. The situation in Champaign, however, is quite different. Can he become the first coach since Ron Zook in 2007 to lead Illinois to a record-winning regular season? That’s the question Illinois fans are asking for.

?? 2. The fans are back. Say goodbye to cardboard cutouts. Hello, real human beings. The COVID-19 pandemic will always dominate the headlines this season, especially with the wave of delta variants currently underway. But Bielema and his program will be able to play in front of home fans – and possibly a large contingent of Nebraska Reds – at Memorial Stadium before the schedule changes in September. A somewhat favorable home schedule early on might help Illinois on the court, but not at the box office. Texas-San Antonio, Maryland and Purdue are September’s three home games. Not exactly the same type of draw that Ohio State, Michigan, or Iowa would bring to Champaign.

?? 3. Stability of the quarterback. Brandon Peters has started each of the last two opening games for Illinois. Michigan’s transfer will likely do the same against Nebraska. Still, he didn’t go through an entire season unscathed during his time in Champaign. The sixth-year eldest, who will turn 24 in mid-October, aims to become Illini’s first quarterback to start every game since Wes Lunt did in 2015. A litany of problems have arisen to explain why Illinois has struggled mightily in recent times. seasons, but not having a proven, reliable starter at the quarterback is near the top.

?? 4. Defense (clap, clap), defense. Ryan Walters is the man Bielema put in charge of leading the defense. The old one Colorado security and The Missouri defensive coordinator has gotten used to Champaign after spending the past six seasons in Columbia, Missouri. But it had been a long time since Illinois fans could boast of their favorite team’s defense. Takeout was the calling card of the Lovie Smith era, but so was the abandonment of big games and plenty of touchdowns. With a large amount of return experience and a possible 3-4 pattern incorporated, Walters’ defense performance will be worth watching all season long.

Four bold predictions

?? 1. Illinois will go bowling. Don’t laugh. Or laugh. Too much. Only John Mackovic in 1988 and Lou Tepper in 1992 guided the Illini to a bowl game during their first seasons in charge. With 40 bowl games in play, along with the two college football playoff semi-finals and the corresponding national championship game, 84 teams are expected to play some type of postseason game. That’s nearly 65% ​​of FBS teams. The anticipated schedule is favorable for the Illini. Defeat Nebraska and Virginia in the first three weeks of the season, avoid a possible trap against Texas-San Antonio September 4 and the path to six victories seems possible. Truly.

?? 2. Isaiah Williams is the main receiver for the Illini. The St. Louis native entered 2021 with vision to lead the Illini in passing yards. But the much-coveted former rookie was never able to outperform Brandon Peters on the depth board and didn’t appear to be in an ideal fit given Bielema’s history of pro-style quarterbacks and an offensive approach first.But the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Williams passed to wide receiver at the end of the spring ball, with no complaints surfacing, at least publicly. The knowledge he possessed as a Big Ten starting quarterback should translate into his new job, and it’s hard to imagine a place where Illinois doesn’t give athlete Williams the ball early and often. .

?? 3. Chase Brown goes over 1000 meters. It has become routine in Bielema’s college coaching career to have this plateau reached. But in Illinois? Not really. Reggie Corbin was the last to do so in 2018, running 1,085 yards. Brown would struggle to reach Mikel Leshoure’s school record of 1,697 yards in the 2010 season, but the 5-foot-11, 205-pound Brown produced 540 yards in just eight games last season. Get close to that over a full 12-game roster, and the London, Ont. Native could knock on the 1,000-yard gate.

?? 4. James McCourt offers another winning game. It’s not necessarily that daring considering McCourt scored last-second goals to upset Wisconsin in 2019 and then again to help Illinois win their first game in 2020 at Rutgers. So if it starts again in 2021, that will only continue the trend.

Four must-see games

?? 1. October 9 vs. Wisconsin. The second half of the season presents arguably the most captivating game on the program. Bielema went 4-1 against the Illini during his tenure as coach of the Badgers. Will he be able to reproduce these figures against his former employer? Illinois led the series, going 11-1 against Wisconsin from 1981 to 1992. Since then, however, Illinois is only 4-19-1 against the Badgers, including improbable surprise of 2019 in Champaign. This is a mid-season litmus test to see if Illinois is on track this season.

?? 2. August 28, against Nebraska. The pressure on Scott Frost was already intense even before Wednesday’s announcement of an ongoing NCAA investigation into alleged violations under Frost’s watch. Losing games isn’t taken too nicely in Cornhusker State, even with the reputation of Nebraska fans as some of the nicest in college football. Losing in Champaign when most of college football’s eyes will be on what the Illini and Cornhuskers aren’t doing isn’t going to help Frost’s status at all. But an Illinois victory would be a boon for the start of the Bielema era.

?? 3. November 20, in Iowa. Brandon Peters probably doesn’t like Kinnick Stadium very much. A 2019 loss to Iowa City ended a four-game winning streak against Illinois. Additionally, quarterback Illini was knocked out at the end of that game on a questionable no-call, suffering a concussion that ultimately led him to miss the regular season finale the following week in a loss to Northwestern. In 2016, when Peters was a true freshman in Michigan and bottom of the depth chart, Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines lost to the Hawkeyes in mid-November, ending Michigan’s undefeated season.

?? 4. September 17 vs. Maryland. By the fourth game of the season, the first Illini story this season will be written. Will Illinois desperately need a win for this Friday night kickoff in Champaign? Will the Illini rise high after a superb three-week opening have them unbeaten and maybe on the cusp of an Associated Press Top 25 spot? Add the fact that former Illinois coach Ron Zook – now Maryland special teams coordinator and outside linebacker coach – and former Illini offensive coordinator Mike Locksley – now Maryland head coach – will be back in town , and the plot thickens.

Four steps to watch out for

?? 1. Force the problem. Jake Hansen made a name for himself forcing the fumbles. He is only the third Illini in program history to record a double-digit total in this category, with his 10 forced fumbles ranking just behind Whitney Mercilus (11) and Simeon Rice (13). He’s also at 243 career tackles, so he only needs 57 more to reach 300. He’ll likely need an All-Big Ten-caliber season, however, if he is to break into the program’s top 10 career tackles, as he’s 129th behind Steve Glasson (371 career tackles) for 10th place. on this list.

?? 2. Master bag. Illinois haven’t registered at least 10 sacks in a season since Whitney Mercilus produced 16 in his memorable 2011 season. Could Owen Carney Jr. stand a chance of reaching 10 or more? It looks like the 6-foot-3, 275-pound Miami native has the best odds. He managed a team-high five in just eight games last season. It remains to be seen how his move to outside linebacker will affect his ability to get past the quarterback, but Carney showed last season that he is at his highest level of productivity. You have to think Illinois will try to continue this trend this season.

?? 3. Reliable line. Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase, along with offensive linemen Ryan McDonald and Tim Simpson all hold the program record for most starts at 48. A trio of offensive linemen stand a chance to surpass that number this season. Vederian Lowe, Alex Palczewski and Doug Kramer have all started for the Illini since the 2017 season, and Illinois natives took advantage of their extra year of eligibility to allow them due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lowe and Palczewski both have 40 career starts, with Kramer not far behind at 37.

?? 4. Kicks count. Blake Hayes already holds school records for career punters (256), career punt yards (11,207) and punts inside the 20-yard line (91). He’s second in his career on average at 43.4, just behind Steve Weatherford’s 43.5 mark. Fellow specialist James McCourt has already tied the one-game record for longest field goal (57 yards), so he’s capable of breaking the record he shares with Dan Beaver that was set for the first time in 1975. McCourt, with already 19 field goals to his credit, needs 15 field goals this season to make his way into the top 10 career brands.