Last season, the Illinois Fighting Illini started 4-1 and looked poised to make a bowl appearance. What followed was a collapse of epic proportions as the Fighting Illini lost six of their final seven games and finished 5-7 without a bowl game invitation. As a result, Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman decided to clean house and relieve Bill Cubit of his head coaching duties.
His replacement was none other than former Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith. He was selected for the job in the hope that he can instill the Fighting Illini football program with the same type of toughness his teams possessed in the NFL.
Despite this smart hire, the Fighting Illini were projected to struggle in the 2016 season due to a lack of talent within the current roster, as well as the inability for Smith to bring in his own recruiting class. Although the next few years might not look pretty, success might be in store for this Fighting Illini team down the road.
The 2016 season began with the Fighting Illini decimating Murray State 52-3 at home. However, the season quickly took a turn for the worse as Illinois went on to lose four straight games, three by at least 15 points. Illinois broke its losing streak with a 24-7 victory against Rutgers on the road, before traveling to Ann Arbor to take on the Wolverines. The Fighting Illini lost 41-8 to the Wolverines and then lost to the Minnesota Gophers 40-17 at home.
With a 2-6 record going into last week, the Fighting Illini looked to produce a silver lining as the Michigan State Spartans came into town. Thanks to two touchdown passes by sophomore Jeff George Jr. and two more touchdowns by junior running back Kendrick Foster, Illinois outlasted the Spartans and won 31-27.
The Fighting Illini’s 3-6 record results from their struggles on the offensive side of the ball. Illinois is currently averaging 22.9 points per game, which is 110th out of 128 Division-I teams. They have had success moving the ball down the field, but have one of the worst red zone offenses in the country and leave a ton of points on the scoreboard.
To make matters worse, Illinois started the season with senior Wes Lunt at quarterback, but Lunt has missed the last four games due to a back injury. Prior to his injury, Lunt had six touchdowns and only one interception in his first five games. His replacement was Chayce Crouch, who led the Fighting Illini to their victory over Rutgers, but has since lost his starting job due to poor play.
The current quarterback is Jeff George Jr., who is the son of former NFL quarterback Jeff George. In his three starts this season, George Jr., has failed to complete 50 percent of his passes. He now faces the tall task of correcting that against a fierce Badger defense.
With a 3-6 record, the Fighting Illini will have to win out the rest of the season to make a bowl game. In order to do that, they will have to go into Camp Randall and defeat the No. 7 ranked Badgers. Wisconsin is coming off an impressive 21-7 win against Northwestern and looks to win out in search of a Big Ten title game appearance. The Fighting Illini could be in for a rough day in Madison, as Wisconsin’s stout defense and strong running game, should propel them to a victory.
