The Illinois Fighting Illini have stumbled to a 5-3 (2-3 Big Ten) mark through the college football season's first two months after being ranked preseason AP No. 12 entering coach Bret Bielema's fifth season.
Despite two of the Illini's losses coming to the current No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation: the Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) and the Indiana Hoosiers (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten), respectively, Illinois all but killed its slim College Football Playoff hopes with a 42-25 loss against the Washington Huskies (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) this past Saturday in Seattle, and now tries to move forward.
The Illini have a relatively easy final four games, with three of them taking place at Gies Memorial Stadium through the end of November. Illinois can become bowl eligible in back-to-back seasons for the first time since it did so in 2010 and 2011 if it wins this Saturday against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-4, 1-4 Big Ten). Rutgers railed to snag a road win last Saturday against the upstart Purdue Boilermakers (2-6, 0-5 Big Ten) and will look to exact revenge after losing a 38-31 game last year in Piscataway.
Bielema has enjoyed great success throughout his tenure in Champaign, but recognizes that Illinois has missed opportunities to take gradual steps toward consistent national relevance amongst the college football community. Defensive miscues have been paramount, too, putting defensive coordinator Aaron Henry under scrutiny.
"I think a little bit early down, but again, it just seems like every one of these games will go to a third and very manageable call, and we just can't come up with it," Bielema said following the loss. "And, you know, it's something that you, I've talked about the protections, I talked about the coverages. I think we got a play to our player's strengths, probably a little bit better, but take away what they do well. I think that the first quarter, we obviously talked a lot about this quarterback and the very first or second play he takes off on a huge scramble. You have to stop them from doing the things they do well, and that was goal number one. We did the whole offense rant through number two, and unfortunately, we weren't able to retain that."
In a column from The Daily Herald's Jim O'Donnell, he predicts Bielema will be back in Champaign next season. However, O'Donnell wrote on Wednesday that he wouldn't be surprised if Bielema didn't finish his contract if things keep going haywire.
"A lower-class close (Rutgers, Maryland, at Wisconsin, Northwestern) helps, but Bielema's predictable ceiling already has some influential alumni looking ahead," O'Donnell wrote.
For now, Illinois has to focus on what's in front of it: snapping its losing skid and chasing the possibility of back-to-back double-digit winning seasons by year's end.
Kickoff is set for noon ET on NBC, which culminates the school's annual Dad's Weekend.