As we learned on Saturday:
1.) Illini football is still a dumpster fire on defense and the program itself is worthy of Premier League style relegation down the MAC
2.) the interest in the local teams is at its nadir. NIU fans did their little publicity stunt; calling out Northwestern and Illinois in a manner that reeks of mid-major amateurism and irrelevance, and no one batted an eye. (Seriously, a story like that should have caused somewhat of a stir. Instead it was met with total apathy)
3.) The Big Ten is even worse than you think it is. The Big Ten West Division is a complete abomination. Therefore, as much of a bad joke as Illini football is right now, they still have extremely decent bowl chances.
TV: ESPNNEWS 3PM
SPREAD: Illini football -14.5
Texas State football preview:
Make no mistake, the only reason, and I mean the only reason the Texas State Armadilloes, whoops I mean the Bobcats, are being previewed by this site is because my alma mater scheduled a “guarantee game” with them. No offense TSU fans and community, but it’s the truth. I want to see what Tim Beckman has to prepare for. The Bobcats have a solid dual threat QB in Tyler Jones, and a solid running back duo in Chris Nutall and Robert Lowe. The offense returns seven starters and the linebackers are pretty solid.
Texas St Bad News:
that offense returns seven started but it ranked dead last in the Sun Belt. The defense only returns four starters and there’s little to no depth or experience in the defensive line. Pass rush will be an issue. The Bobcats had real issues passing and defending the pass last season. Lindy’s ranks them 107th in the nation overall. I fully expect Illini Offensive Coordinator Bill Cubit and QB Wes Lunt to throw all over them when they visit Champaign and Illinois has to win that game by at least 28 to be respected.
TSU’s definition of success:
they at least contend for the league title. No one expects them to win it outright. Although a bowl berth, which would be the first for the program since 2004, would really be something. They crushed Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the opener, but lost to Navy team in week two that may or may not be okay.
Coach Ed “Straight Arrow” Genero, whoops I mean Dennis Franchione will not do his job if:
the Bobcats can’t figure out a way to get vertical and keep opposing defenders out of the box/stacking against the line of scrimmage. If they win less than 3-4 games it would be a huge disappointment.
Texas State football Key and Peele’s “East-West College Bowl”: NT Dallas McClarty, WR Montreal Taylor, LB Jerrid Jeter-Gilmon, WR Braizon Fresch, S Brixxe Hawthorne.
Prediction: Illini football 45, Texas State 34
At Big Ten Media Day, when there’s no actual football to talk about, I asked all three of the Illini football players that Beckman brought about one of the greatest college football movies and comedies of all time. None of them had heard of it. As “Necessary Roughness” came out in 1991, it was in fact before their time. I asked Beckman about it, and he said he saw the film a while ago and enjoyed it. I then asked if he would screen it to the team the week before. Becks said he hadn’t thought of it, but it was a funny idea.
In other words Paul Banks’ attempts to have a Paul Blake “arm of the armadilloes” story went nowhere. Kind of like the 2014 Illini football season. Hopefully, their will come a time when I can write an Illini football preview that actually talks about Illinois; not a goofy Sinbad/Jason Bateman movie that came out 25 years ago. (Although the Texas St Athletic Director was played by a future Presidential candidate)
You’ll notice I didn’t say much about Illinois in this post. Which says everything you need to know about Illini football right now.
Again, it’s frightening that this team will be 3-1 on Saturday night, with an actual manageable clear path to a bowl game.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partners with Fox Sports and Yahoo. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN2.