Games in which Illinois will be heavy favorites:
Arkansas State
South Dakota State
Western Michigan
Games in which Illinois will be heavy underdogs:
Ohio State
@Penn State
Wisconsin
Favorable matchup games:
Arizona State
Northwestern
@Indiana
Michigan
Unfavorable matchup games:
@Purdue
@Minnesota
Summary:
I like Illinois as a possible sleeper team this year based upon their schedule, which is very favorable. Most of their matchup games are at home and their non-conference schedule should produce a 4-0 record unless they slip up at home against a very comparable Arizona State team.
However, the B1G is very balanced this year so I could just as easily see Illinois losing a majority of their favorable matchup games as I could see them winning most. I am very skeptical of the Illini based upon their history the last 20 years (they haven’t put together back to back winning seasons since 1990-91). They also lost a lot of talent especially on the defensive side of the ball with the departures of: DT Corey Liuget, MLB Martez Wilson, and DE Clay Nurse. Offensively they lost workhorse tailback Mikel Leshoure, and will have to depend almost entirely on Sophomore QB Nathan Sheelhaase in 2011. Having to depend on Scheelhaase makes me very nervous for two reasons: first of all he was wildly inconsistent last year, secondly he needs to stay healthy and without Leshoure and much weaponry at WR/TE he could be running even more than 2010, making his health and durability a serious concern. I also don’t trust Ron Zook as a head coach, he is clearly a good recruiter, but I just haven’t seen consistency out of Zook’s teams, ditto the Illinois program in general.
After it’s all said and done expect the Illini to have a roller coaster season that will leave them just shy of bowl eligibility with five wins.
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