Illinois Football Countdown to Kickoff: Two Thoughts Before 2025 Opener

Illinois, after its Week 1 get-the-blood-flowing contest against Western Illinois, will head southeast to Durham, North Carolina, for a road test at Duke. Although the Blue Devils’ basketball program often steals the spotlight, the football program has turned things around over the past few years, rattling off three straight seasons of eight-plus wins.

Ballyhooed Tulane transfer Darian Mensah leads the way at quarterback for Duke, which went 5-1 at home last season (losing only to No. 22 SMU by a point in overtime). In Durham, that counts as momentum on the gridiron, and even ESPN's analytics – Illinois' least favorite metric system – like the Blue Devils' chances against a preseason top-15 team (albeit barely, at just 51.4 percent). 

Regardless of the pregame numbers and predictions, the outcome of the Duke game carries heavy repercussions for Illinois. If the Illini win it, they likely walk into a Week 4 matchup at Indiana undefeated – and with a fantastic opportunity to add a resume-building win and realistically put enter the Ohio State game at 6-0. On the flip side, if coach Bret Bielema’s squad falls in Durham, then the pressure is officially on. To earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, Illinois would be able to afford only one loss to another Big Ten team – and the Buckeyes will ... be ... tough.

Was Illinois 'lucky' in 2024?

This one keeps gnawing at us. Illini fans surely don’t want to admit it, and likely want to chalk up all of those late-game heroics to the ice in the veins of quarterback Luke Altmyer and wideout Pat Bryant. In reality, though, no football team wins that many close games without benefiting from some good fortune.

Illinois trailed in the fourth quarter of five of its wins. Does that mean it could have just as easily been a 5-8 season? Probably not. There is something to the idea of Altmyer keeping his cool and giving the Illini an advantage when the pressure rises. Offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. also seems to save his best calls for the clutchest moments.

Still, just one holding call, an errant pass from Altmyer or a miscommunication in the secondary could have dramatically altered the outcome of the Illini’s season. Perhaps they have learned from past experiences and will put more games out of reach in 2025. But if Illinois finds itself in a lot of tight spots again in 2025, trailing in the final frame of games as often as it did in 2024, there will be no CFP berth, no payoff on one of the most hotly anticipated Illini football seasons in at least a quarter century and no joy in Champaign.