It has been a very eventful off-season for the Illini football program. In 2025, they’ll return 18/22 starters from a team that went 10-3, won the Citrus Bowl and finished #16 (one spot ahead of Alabama) in the final AP poll. Obviously, the outlook for this team is very positive, as it should be, as spring football nears its conclusion.
Lots of Illini football news and notes to cover, with running back Josh McCray entering the transfer portal and a highly rated recruiting class coming in.
So what are the odds of the Illini making the College Football Playoff? Well, if you are looking at the prices for 2025-26 national championship futures, where you can utilize sports betting bonuses on in your wagering, you’ll see the Illini have very long odds. Typically they are priced at about +20000 to win it all. Although some places are offering +12500.
That’s the odds of winning it all though, which is a completely different beast than reaching the CFP.
With all they have returning, plus a very favorable schedule, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Bret Bielema’s team does in 2025 what Indiana did last season.
Josh McCray Enters the Transfer Portal
You can’t wish anything but the best for this guy. He’s done everything possible to earn the admiration and respect of Illini football fans everywhere.
He endured through an injury-riddled career to score the game-winning touchdown (out of the “barge” formation”) in the Citrus Bowl, and earn game MVP honors. That alone makes him a forever Illini football legend.
Plus, he has to do what’s best for himself. It’s a crowded backfield in Champaign-
Aidan Laughery, Ca’Lil Valentine and Kaden Feagin, and McCray needs to get his carries.
If it’s elsewhere, so be it. Also, you can infer from this move that Kaden Feagin will be back to himself next season.
There were a lot of question marks about how he might recover from the knee injury that ended his 2024 season in October.
But it’s clear now that he’ll be alright, and a major part of the plan.
Racking Up Really Reputable Recruits
We don’t really do recruiting here- it’s just not our thing. Plenty of other people out there do it though, including Locked on Illini, a really good daily Illini sports podcast.
According to them, this Illini football recruiting class is currently rated top ten nationally?! You know how it is usually- Illinois recruiting classes don’t even rate in the top ten in the Big Ten!
Locked On indicates that Illinois will likely end up somewhere in the top 20 or 25 when all is said and done, but that is still astounding!
Ron Zook is the only Illini football coach in recent memory to be have been able to pull that off.
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.
