Illinois Projected to be Worst Team in Big Ten
The Bret Bielema era of Illinois football is about to begin, as former head coach Lovie Smith was let go after going 17-39 through five seasons with the Fighting Illini.
Despite hiring a new head coach, expect more of the same from Illinois in 2021. WynnBET has college football win totals set for the coming season, and it has Fighting Illini's win total set at a measly 3.5 wins. WynnBET also has Illinois at the very bottom of the list to win the Big Ten this season at +7500 odds, which is an implied probability of only 1.32%.
One of the lone bright spots for Illinois this season is that Brandon Peters will be returning as the team’s starting quarterback. Peters was efficient when he needed to be in 2020, throwing zero interceptions in 80 attempts last season.
It’s a mystery who Peters will be throwing to this season, as almost every pass catcher from last year has left the program. Josh Imatorbhebhe is on the Jacksonville Jaguars, and they also lost Daniel Imatobhbhe, Casey Washington, and Ricky Smalling to the transfer portal.
Illinois will hope that Miami transfer Brian Hightower will fit in as the team’s No. 1 target in the passing game.
Illinois also lost their best offensive lineman, as Kendrick Green was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The other four starters will return to the program, but they’ll miss their anchor at offensive tackle.
The biggest weakness that Illinois will need to address is its defense. It ranked dead last in the Big Ten in yards allowed, allowing teams to average 467.2 yards against them per game, which was good for 113th in the country. Opposing offenses also scored an average of 34.9 points against them, which ranked 94th among all teams.
If defensive genius Lovie Smith couldn’t help the Illinois defense, then Bret Bielema will certainly have his work cut out for him.
There’s not much you can point to in terms of hope for this program right now, so despite the low win total being set at 3.5 wins, the under is the only bet to make.