Mike Thomas might want to call in the pest control company -- the Illini have a huge bug problem. And these aren't the type that live under your bed or in the cracks of your walls. No, this bug is the worst of them all: the injury bug. It has been individually well-documented just how many Illinois football and basketball players have been bitten, but when you compile them all into a comprehensive list it is even more (depressingly) astounding. Take a look:
| Injury/Prognosis | Player | Sport |
| Suffered torn ACL, out for season | Mike Dudek | football |
| Suffered shoulder injury, week-to-week | Josh Ferguson | football |
| Suffered torn ACL, out for season | Dre Brown | football |
| Suffered foot injury, week-to-week | Justin Hardee | football |
| Suffered torn ACL, out for season | Patrick Nelson | football |
| Suffered foot injury, out for season | Teko Powell | football |
| Suffered torn labrum, out for season | Reggie Corbin | football |
| Suffered torn ACL, out for season | Tracy Abrams | basketball |
| Suffered foot injury, week-to-week | Jalen Coleman-Lands | basketball |
| Suffered torn meniscus, out 6-8 weeks | Leron Black | basketball |
| Suffered concussion, day-to-day | Jaylon Tate | basketball |
| Suffered thumb injury, out 8 weeks | Kendrick Nunn | basketball |
*Update: RB Henry Enyenehi and FB Tim Clary both suffered injuries after this was published
So the real question here is why?