NEWSLETTER
I’ll have college football season previews for all Big Ten teams and Notre Dame as we lead up to the 2023 campaign. We’re talking about a pair of Big Ten West teams with fascinating falls ahead of them – Illinois and Nebraska.
Illinois Fighting Illini
It’s becoming more and more evident that while it may not have worked at Arkansas, Bret Bielema’s style of football just works in the Big Ten. U of I hasn’t been anything flashy in his two seasons in Champaign, but he’s been incredibly solid and turned the program around a lot faster than many thought he could. Last year’s defense was legitimately a top unit in the country. The running game was as good as any in the Big Ten. Now that Bielema is starting to recruit the state of Illinois better than the Illini have in years, U of I could become a real contender in the Big Ten West.
This season will push Bielema and the Illini. All-American corner Devon Witherspoon was a first-round draft pick. Star running back Chase Brown left for the NFL as well. Ryan Walters, the coordinator of last year’s great defense, is now the head coach of Big Ten West rival Purdue. There’s no doubt Bielema has the Illini on the right track, but this season will test just how far along the program has come in just three years.
Offensively, Illinois has a lot of work to do. Chase Brown could have been a Heisman contender last season if he played for a bigger program. With him in the NFL, Illinois’ next leading rusher Reggie Love will likely be the lead back. He ran for 317 yards last season. Bielema teams have always been able to run the football and control the clock, I expect they’ll figure out how to do that again this season.
The offensive line should be solid. They return two potential All-Big Ten players in Julian Pearl and Isaiah Adams. They will, however, be breaking in three new starters (likely including Josh Kreutz – son of Bears legend Olin). Again, Bielema’s offensive lines always seem to be solid, but this one might take a few games.
Tommy DeVito is no longer under center for U of I, but that’s not the worst thing in the world. DeVito was reliable, but unspectacular for the Illini. Illinois had virtually no downfield passing game last fall, and despite having a top running game in the conference they were surprisingly mediocre on third downs.
Ole Miss transfer Luke Altmyer will be the one taking over under center. Altmyer is a former four-star recruit who left for Illinois after two years in Oxford. Bielema was high on what he thought Altmyer could bring to the Illini offense.
“He has a really good football IQ, intelligence, awareness, he’s a great person, and really delves into his relationships,” Bielema told the Big Ten Country podcast. “He’s got really all the touches you need as a quarterback. He can throw it in there in a tight window. He’s got a great deep ball, he’s got good velocity on intermediate throws.”
While Altmyer may not bring the steadiness DeVito provided, it certainly sounds like the ceiling for the passing game is higher with the Ole Miss transfer.
Defensively, Illinois is talented but will have some BIG shoes to fill. The Illini led the country in takeaways and interceptions while finishing third in total defense. They’ll have to replace basically their entire secondary. The linebacking core will look fairly similar despite the loss of 2022’s leading tackler Isaac Darkangelo.
Illinois’ defensive line though can be one of the top units in the Big Ten, if not the country this season. The middle gets clogged up by a pair of 315+ pounders in TeRah Edwards and Ohio transfer Denzel Daxon. On the outside, last season’s team sack leader Jer’Zhan Newton returns. He’s a guy we’ll likely see on Sundays in the future. On the other end, Keith Randolph returns after leading the team with 13 tackles for loss last fall.
Key To The Season
Despite the roster turnover, can Illinois continue to play Bielema ball? There’s no doubt in my mind Bret Bielema has Illinois down the right path, but are they at or near the level he had Wisconsin before he left? The really good programs are able to turn over their roster year after year without much dropoff. Illinois will have to do that with new running backs, some new offensive linemen, and a whole lot of defensive production to replace. If they can pick up where they left off last season without a ton of dropoff, U of I could very well win the Big Ten West and get themselves to Indy.
Prediction
The Illini will get tested right out of the gates. They host a Toledo team that’s expected to win the MAC with a ton of returning starters. Then they go to Kansas to play a Jayhawks squad that’s very well-coached and has great quarterback play. Week three they get to come back home and face a very talented Penn State team. There are a ton of coin-flip games on this schedule, but if Illinois wants to take the next step as a program, they have to win most of those.
Record: 7-5
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Well, Matt Rhule, you have your work cut out for you! Rhule re-enters the college football ranks with the tough task of turning around the Nebraska program – something no one has been able to do since Bo Pelini won 9+ games from 2008-14 before being fired. Rhule has experience taking over reeling programs, though. He took Temple and got them on the map nationally. He undertook the task of picking up the pieces at Baylor after the Art Briles scandal left the program in shambles. Rhule did so well at Baylor it got him an NFL job, where ultimately things didn’t work out in Carolina, so here we are.
After seeing what life has been like since Bo Pelini was fired, fans would give anything to get back to consistently winning 9+ games a year. Rhule might be the guy who can finally do that after Scott Frost failed so miserably at his alma mater despite coming in with so much hope.
At quarterback, Nebraska will welcome in Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims. Sims can make plays with both his feet and his arm, but he’s had some trouble staying on the field. Over the last two seasons, he’s played only 15 games. He did throw for 17 touchdowns in that stretch, but also 10 INTs. The offensive linemen in front of him will be mostly new starters for the Huskers, but bring some experience from the transfer portal.
The Huskers really struggled on the ground last season. Look for Rhule to change that this fall with a quarterback in Sims who can run and a tandem of solid running backs in Anthony Grant and Gabe Ervin. As for the receiving core, last year’s second-leading WR Marcus Washington returns to lead a group of young, but talented wideouts.
Defensively, Nebraska was pretty darn bad last year. Northwestern put up over 520+ yards of offense on them. Oklahoma absolutely embarrassed them in Lincoln. They were fourth-worst in the Big Ten in scoring defense and third-worst in yards per game allowed. The Huskers were only able to record 21 sacks – good for 10th in the Big Ten – as well last fall.
Nebraska’s defense will have a ton of new, young faces this year, which could be refreshing after last season’s debacle. The majority of their defensive line and linebacking core will be made up of new starters. The Huskers will return a pair of contributors in the secondary, however. Defensive backs Quinton Newsome and Isaac Gifford will be the anchors on that side of the ball for Nebraska. Unfortunately, another potential starter DB Myles Farmer left the team and entered the transfer portal after being suspended by Matt Rhule for the start of preseason practice.
Key To The Season
Stability and consistency. It’s what’s been lacking from this program really since Pelini was fired in 2014. Ever since then, it seems like every step forward Nebraska took was followed by two steps back. Matt Rhule’s first seasons at Temple and Baylor didn’t go great, but he was able to bring an identity to those programs. Play tough defense, don’t make mistakes, play hard. The results might not be there instantly for the Huskers, but the Rhule hiring most likely has the back on the path to relevancy.
Prediction
There’s a chance Nebraska could be 3-1 when they welcome Michigan to Lincoln on September 30th. If they are, expect that matchup to get an insane amount of hype. Following that, the schedule is manageable. They avoid Ohio State and Penn State. They get Iowa, Purdue, and Maryland at home. A bowl game is in reach for the Huskers. That said, if they don’t get there, Rhule could still have them heading in the right direction for the long term.
Record: 5-7
