CHAMPAIGN, Illinois — WQAD-8 readers, it's that time of year again. Late August means college football is right around the corner, and for Big Ten fans, this season promises to be one to remember.
With four new teams joining the conference—Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA—excitement is building. These programs, all rich in history, will push the traditionally middle-tier teams to work even harder to reach the magic number of six wins, which is needed to achieve a regular winning season and become bowl-eligible.
Illinois Head Coach Bret Bielema, a Prophetstown, Illinois native, brings 26 years of college coaching experience. He understands that coaches are judged by wins and losses, a message he emphasized during media day in Indianapolis.
Most local and national media outlets remain skeptical about the Illini's prospects this year. Of the 18 teams ranked, Sports Illustrated picked Illinois 14th, Sporting News 15th, IndyStar 15th, and Athlon 15th, with CBS Sports ranking them slightly higher at 8th.
Are the other teams that much better, or are they expecting Illinois to revert to their form from before Bielema's arrival four years ago? It's worth noting the signs of improvement. Last season, Illinois lost seven games, but in five of those losses, they held their conference opponents to 10 points or fewer. The Illini have been competitive and are giving themselves a chance to win.
This year could be different, especially on offense. Illinois has a player no other team in college football can claim—a transfer wide receiver from UTSA, Zakhari Franklin. Franklin is college football's active career leader in receptions (266), receiving yards (3,386), and receiving touchdowns (38). "Zakhari is a dynamic wide receiver that will instantly impact our offense," Bielema said. "We are excited to reunite Zakhari and Barry Lunney after they had two highly productive seasons together in the past at UTSA."
Illinois also added a standout transfer in cornerback Terrance Brooks from Texas. Brooks arrives in Champaign after starting 16 career games for the Longhorns, earning All-Big XII honorable mention last season. Brooks played a key role in Texas's Big XII Championship and College Football Playoff appearance, totaling 20 tackles, six passes defended, and three interceptions. He ranked in the top 20 of Power-5 cornerbacks with a 58.7 passer rating against, according to PFF (minimum 500 snaps).
"We are excited to bring Terrance to Illinois," Bielema said. "He is an extremely talented player with valuable experience as an all-conference college football player from a football family. As soon as we got him to campus, we knew we could provide a great match for what Terrance was looking for in a university, football program, and community. We're excited to get him here to join our Illini famILLy."
The Illinois locker room has been unusually quiet during this preseason camp, likely because the team knows they have what could be their best offensive unit, secondary, and defensive ends in Bielema's tenure at Illinois. While games aren't won on paper, the talent level has vastly improved from previous years.
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