The Fighting Illini football season gets underway in less than a month. The team is hoping to build off its best season in 15 years, going 8-5 and nearly winning the Big Ten West in 2022, though lacking a daunting schedule.
This season’s schedule looks a little tougher, but still quite manageable.
Which games can the Illini expect to really be hard? Which are 50/50 games? And which games are must-wins? Let’s find out:
Note: Games are listed in order of ease
Must-Wins Games
vs. Northwestern
The HAT needs to stay in Champaign for the third year in a row, as Illinois ends the season at home against a Northwestern team in disarray, that won just one game last season, had multiple players drafted, and has had multiple players enter the transfer portal following the firing of Pat Fitzgerald due to the athletic program hazing scandal, including its only four-star recruit.