By Woodrow Carroll
The University of Illinois may belong in the Top 25 of the various collegiate football polls. What Oregon proved last Saturday, was that the Illini are not worthy of inclusion in the Top 10, of any of the polls.
Oregon defeated visiting Illinois, 38-9, in what was viewed as a key Big Ten match. The idea that the Oregon Ducks and the Illinois Fighting Illini are conference rivals, takes a bit of getting used to, now that the Big 10 has 18 amongst its ranks.
Illinois (6-2 and 3-2) has four games left on the schedule starting with a home game against Minnesota Saturday. Nov. 2 at 11 a.m.. Minnesota is the only team Illinois will play, which has a winning record. And, the Minnesota Gophers at 5-3, appear beatable.
Short of dropping its final four games and a likely bowl invite, the Fighting Illini are going to end up with a winning record. The other side of the coins is even stranger.
In Illinois’ 133-year football history, the most victories in a single season is 10, last achieved in 2001 when the team went 10-2 and bottomed off by a loss to LSU in the Sugar Bowl.
How well will the Illini draw for Saturday’s game with Minnesota? Sellouts for games with Kansas and Michigan are already in the books. Had Illinois upset Oregon, we may have seen another full house in Memorial Stadium Saturday. Now the question is “How much damage did the loss to Oregon affect fan interest?”
•Deja vu! Here we go again with Northern Illinois’ 23-22 loss at Ball State Saturday.
With 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Northern Illinois’ Kanon Woodill nailed a 47-yard field goal to put the Huskies up 22-20.
With victory seemingly at hand, Northern Illinois’ defense failed and Ball State’s kicker, Jackson Courville, hit a 51-yard field goal with five seconds to go, for MAC victory.
Last season, when Ball State played at Northern Illinois, it was a 36-yard field goal at the buzzer by Courville that gave the Ball State Cardinals a 20-17 victory.
The defeat suffered by Northern Illinois last Saturday lowered the Huskies’ overall record to 4-4 overall and 1-3 in the MAC. The victory over Notre Dame is now a distant memory.
Of greater concern to the Northern Illinois Huskies is the very real possibility they might not qualify for a bowl game, with six victories needed.
Last season, Northern Illinois opened with a big victory over Boston College, then lost four straight. The 2023 season proved to be a roller coaster one for Northern Illinois. Northern Illinois needed to win their final two regular-season games just to qualify for a bowl game. Victories over Western Michigan and Kent State earned Northern Illinois that bowl bid. Then a 21-19 victory over Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl allowed the Huskies to close out with a 7-6 record.
If Northern Illinois wants to get back in the hunt for respectability, much less a bowl invite, the game at Western Michigan, Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m., should tell the story.
•A few weeks back, the Northwestern Wildcats (3-5 and 1-4) recorded a 37-10 victory at Maryland. The type of showing that held the promise of better things to come. That victory over Maryland turned out to be just an illusion!
Since that victory, Northwestern has lost to Wisconsin, 23-3, and Iowa, 40-14. While a victory at Purdue this Saturday, Nov. 2 at 11 a.m., is well within reach, the remaining schedule for the Northwestern is Ohio State, Michigan, and Illinois. For Northwestern to come up with victories in three of its final four regular-season contests, given the opposition, is asking a bit much.