Tag: Woodrow Carroll

By Woodrow Carroll The auguries may be there for the Northern Illinois University (NIU) football program. Positive omens, for sure, with the bowl season at hand. When it was announced the Northern Illinois bowl destination and opponent Sunday, Dec. 3, it had to have brought up fond memories. The NIU...

By Woodrow Carroll By the time all the Division I college football games had run their course Saturday, Nov. 25, 79 teams with six or more victories had punched their bowl game tickets. A total of 82 teams are needed to fill the 41 FBS (football bowl subdivision) bowl games...

By Woodrow Carroll Interest in the Ohio State University-at-University of Michigan football game at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 25 takes precedence among the majority of those following Big Ten Conference, and we need to keep in mind that most of the Conference teams have targets of their own. In most...

By Woodrow Carroll Thanks to Illinois’ 27-26 Big Ten Conference road football victory over Minnesota Saturday, Nov. 4, all three of the State’s FBS teams, Illinois, Northern Illinois, and Northwestern, have 4-5 record entering into their final three games of the regular season. Given that it usually takes six overall...

By Woodrow Carroll It was only a few short weeks back that everyone was feeling sorry for the Northwestern University football program. Events surrounding former head coach Pat Fitzgerald and the Wildcats’ lack of success on the playing field painted a less than pretty picture. Well, things can change in...

By Woodrow Carroll There are memorable victories and there are memorable defeats. For the University of Illinois football program the 25-21 loss Saturday, Oct. 21 to Wisconsin was definitely in the latter category. Leading 21-7 entering the fourth quarter, the Illini were outscored 18-0 the final 15 minutes in an...

By Woodrow Carroll At one point last season, the University of Illinois football program was clearly on the upswing. After beating host Nebraska, 26-9, in late October last year, the Fighting Illini were 7-1 and ranked No. 16 in a national poll. Then things started to go sour. After that...

By Woodrow Carroll Two badly-wounded college football teams will face each other Friday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. in Champaign when Nebraska and Illinois do battle. The two Big Ten West Division clubs seek to recover from disastrous showings Saturday, Sept. 30. Nebraska was host to Michigan and lost, 45-7....

By Woodrow Carroll The last time the University of Illinois football team faced Penn State prior to the Saturday, Sept. 16 meeting in Champaign, the two schools engaged in a memorable nine-overtime game ultimately won by the Fighting Illini, 20-18, in 2021. The game last weekend had absolutely none of...

By Woodrow Carroll The Big 10 Conference prepares for its final season as it is presently constituted, comprised of 14 member schools, soon to be 18 in number with UCLA, Southern California, Oregon, and Washington set join in 2024. We must focus on the present. The University of Illinois football...

By Woodrow Carroll The Big 10 Conference is preparing for its final season as it is presently constituted. The Big 10 is comprised of 14 member schools and soon will be 18 in number with the addition of UCLA, Southern California, Oregon, and Washington, set to join in 2024. We...