Imagine it is August 2021.  A psychic tells you that Illinois will be 4-6 through its first 10 games.

You peruse the Illini schedule and are tasked to figure out where their 4 wins would come from:

  • Nebraska
  • UTSA
  • at Virginia
  • Maryland
  • at Purdue
  • Charlotte
  • Wisconsin
  • at Penn State
  • Rutgers
  • at Minnesota

You would have had no shot at guessing the 4 accurately.  Rutgers, Maryland and UTSA would all be likely choices.  NOPE.  0-3 against those folks.

How about beating Nebraska, at 10th ranked Penn State, at a ranked Minnesota squad among the Illini’s 4 triumphs?   The only “predictable” win among their 4 proved to be Charlotte.

New coach Bret Bielema has relied on a ground attack (surprise, surprise) to give the Illini a chance to score upsets.  Illinois rushed for an astounding 357 yards against a good Penn State defense and controlled the game in Minneapolis with their rushing attack.  Illinois came ever so close to a 3rd impressive road win at Purdue.

Weird!  But not more bizarre than playing a 9-overtime game with 10 consecutive failures on 2-point conversions!  If Rod Serling and the Twilight Zone were still active,……..