By Woodrow Carroll
With a 43-27 victory at Purdue Saturday, Oct. 4, the University of Illinois football team upped its record to 5-1. In fact, if you go back to the finish of last season, the Fighting Illini have emerged victorious in nine of their last 10 outings. Of course the lone defeat in that 10-game run was the 63-10 beating suffered by Illinois at Indiana. Sadly, the loss to Indiana has become a sticking point when discussing Illinois football.
Illinois football will get another chance to prove just how good the team is Saturday, Oct. 11 at 11 a.m. in Champaign. The Orange & Blue will host the No. 1 ranked, and defending National Champion, Ohio State Buckeyes. The kickoff should see Memorial Stadium filled as the success of the Illini this season has made the football program a hot ticket.
Although it may not be foremost in the minds of most Illinois fans, the 2025 Illini have a good shot at being the winningest Illinois football team ever.
With a football history dating back to the late-19th Century, Illinois has posted 10-victory seasons on a number of occasions. In fact a year ago, Illinois concluded with a final record of 10-3 caped off by a victory over South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl. Yet, the 10-victory plateau has never been surpassed by any Illinois football team. Now, thanks to more games and bowl game participation, you just know that in the very near future an 11 or 12-victory campaign will be reached by the Fighting Illini.
•What sets Northwestern apart from Penn State? For starters, a victory by Northwestern over UCLA. The Penn State Nittany Lions were upset by UCLA, 42-37, last Saturday. Northwestern, for its part, had edged UCLA, 17-14.
Northwestern (3-2, 1-1) had no trouble with visiting Louisiana-Monroe last Saturday winning 42-7.
One suspects Penn State might take out its frustration on the Northwestern Wildcats when the two foes meet.
•With a 14-0 lead over Miami (O.) at the end of the first quarter last Saturday in DeKalb, Northern Illinois was primed to end a three-game losing streak and grab a Mid-American Conference victory in the process. Unfortunately, that 14-point first quarter scoring burst by NIU proved to be the only points put on the scoreboard by Northern Illinois.
After the shock of NIU’s two quick early scores wore off, the visiting RedHawks took command en route to 25-14 victory.
Next season Northern Illinois will join the Mountain West Conference. A parting championship in the MAC would look good on the Huskies’ resume going into next season’s action. If Northern Illinois is to leave the MAC in a blaze of football glory, the Huskies will have to step it up.
History is on the Huskies’ side if you are looking for a strong finish to the football season.
In 2023, Northern Illinois opened with a 27-24 overtime victory at Boston College. A Boneyard victory is what it’s called when the Huskies take down a team from a power conference like Boston College.
Following the conquest of Boston College, the Huskies dropped four straight. Seemingly out of the running for a bowl game invite, Northern Illinois then reeled off three victories only to drop two games. Needing to win the final two games on the schedule, the Huskies did just that! A 6-6 record that got NIU an invite to the Camellia Bowl where the Huskies ended up beating Arkansas State 21-19 to finish with a 7-6 record.
Unlike the Big Ten and the SEC, the MAC is not a power-packed football conference. Heading into this week’s action, Toledo is the only MAC side with an overall winning record. The Rockets are 3-2 overall. Northern Illinois has struggled. But, so has every other MAC team. In truth the MAC is up for grabs.