CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Editor's Note: The featured video was published on Nov. 20 and previews Northwestern's 45-43 victory over Illinois.
The Illinois fanbase is loyal: they will travel anywhere in the country hoping to see a victory by the orange and blue. Last weekend's loss had a sting that left a bitter taste in the mouths of many.
Illinois' comeback against their cross-town rival the Northwestern Wildcats came up two points short 43-45, but in the bigger picture, it left the Illini one game short of reaching a bowl game for the second straight year.
Many fans have taken to social media to voice their displeasure of the program, fair or not. WQAD Sports Director Matt Randazzo had a word of advice for those Illinois fans ready to throw in the towel.
Randazzo posted to X (formerly Twitter) and said, "I've seen a good amount of frustration from Illini fans about Bret Bielema and a 5-7 season. Bielema is 18-19 in 3 seasons in Champaign. To put it in perspective Illinois football won a total of 18 games in the eight seasons before Bielema arrived."
Did you know?
Illinois tied Penn State for the fourth-best offense in the conference this past season, only trailing Michigan, Ohio State, and Maryland. The Illini averaged 391.0 yards a contest, all while scoring a fifth-best 24.5 points a game.
In the 2023 NFL draft, Illinois Devon Witherspoon was the fifth overall pick by the Seattle Seahawks, and Jartavious Martin, Sydney and Chase Brown were all gone by the fifth round. Losing that, along with former DB Moline Maroon Matthew Bailey sitting out due to a shoulder injury, slowed Illinois’ progress early.
The Illinois coaches did not pout; they are already up in the 12-round ready to finish the fight. Right after the game in which Northwestern defeated Illinois, it received some outstanding news on the recruiting front. Daniel Brown committed to play for Illinois next year; Brown is 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds from Kansas City, Missouri–he is the number one JUCO edge prospect in the Class of 2024.
Brown told WQAD, "I got an offer from Illinois on October 22, I wasn't expecting it, but once I got it, I was sold. It was all about the coaches for me, they showed me what they could do for me and how I could help the team."
Brown took the frown off those sad faces, but that was not all. Illinois picked up a bigger project that had a lot of those pearly white teeth showing.
Four-star offensive lineman Andrew Dennis shocked the country by committing. Dennis hales from Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, and is a 6-foot-5, 275-pound stud originally committed to the Michigan State Spartans, but after the latest scandal with former head coach Mel Tucker, Dennis decommitted from them.
Dennis was set to pledge to Penn State or Clemson, but after his visit to Illinois, he knew he had found his new home. He called the Purdue Boilermakers, who had a visit scheduled this weekend with Dennis, to inform them that he would not make it to West Lafayette; he committed to Illinois.
Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said, "We will meet with our players this week, then it's time to get back to work."
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