It isn’t completely fair to pin a coach’s first season on them. Mostly, they’re just given the roster that they’re given. That said, Lovie Smith’s first season (2016) was bad, and it started with a bad non-conference slate, in which the Illini went 1-2.
Illinois’s non-conference schedule saw them beat FCS Murray State 52-3, lose to North Carolina 48-23, and lose to Western Michigan 34-10. Looking back, the losses to UNC and Western Michigan are more painful for who was on those teams rather than the losses themselves.
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