The Illinois Fighting Illini are ranked #12 in both the AP and USA Today preseason polls. There are 12 slots in the 2025 College Football Playoff. Thus, it’s not a reach, stretch or hot take to predict the Illini to make the CFP this season.
Tell that to ESPN, who released their playoff pundit prediction panel yesterday, and Illinois was barely represented.
The mothership had 12 (got to keep the same numerical theme going here) of their reporters predict the playoff, and only two picked the Illini. One of them had the Bret Bielema boys #9, while another placed them in the final slot at #12.
So in case you were an Illini fan looking for some bulletin board material this upcoming season, well, you got it.
Maybe this could serve as some fuel to the fire.
After all, some Illinois fans are already very nervous this season, with the primary reason being that maybe all the preseason hype, building the Illini up, could be a problem.
There are worries that the Illini could buy in to that stuff, and maybe become complacent. Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer keeps it real, and espoused a message that keeps both feet on the ground.
“There’s a lot of people who ask me, you know you’re not on this list, your team’s not ranked here and I’m like, it just doesn’t matter,” Altmyer said in an exclusive with RG.org.
“I don’t play for those reasons. I know if I do what I do, all that stuff comes. I play because I love it.
“I love my teammates. I love the pain of the game.
“I love to score touchdowns. I love to smile and celebrate after wins.
“And I love the agony of defeat because it makes me want to beat ’em, to go get it even more.
“It teaches me a lot about life, because proving people wrong is so fleeting, and it’s so shallow.
“It really is.”
The senior captain is spot on.
With all that Altmyer, J.C. Davis, Hank Beatty, Aidan Laughery, Tanner Arkin, Josh Gesky, Josh Kreutz and Kaden Feagin (among others) bring to the table on offense, this Illini team will score some points.
And with all the elite top tier talent on defense, with the likes of Gabe Jacas, Dylan Rosiek, Xavier Scott, Miles Scott and Matthew Bailey leading the way, this squad is going to be very difficult to score on.
Making the CFP is always a tremendous achievement; every single season. Getting there will be tough. Whether the Illini get there or not, this season can and should be very special.
The bowl game victory broke new barriers for the program, capping off what was a historical 2024 for the program.
Now it’s time for the Illini to build off of that and level up.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter