ILLINOIS Fighting Illini

National Forecast: 84 • Big Ten West Prediction: 7 • Projected Record: 3-9, 1-8 Big Ten

Five years ago, new Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman took a shot on longtime NFL coach Lovie Smith, turning over the program to him. It didn’t work. Away from the college game for more than two decades, Smith never found his footing and went 17–39 with no winning seasons. He was fired after the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign. Illinois didn’t wait long to name Smith’s replacement, hiring Bret Bielema off the staff of the NFL’s New York Giants. Why Bielema? Start with his Big Tenheavy background (Prophetstown, Ill., native, former Iowa player, long run of success as Wisconsin head coach.) Bielema said all the right things early in his Illinois tenure, showing a level of competence Illini fans crave. “The overall feeling on this campus is pretty special,” Bielema says. One…

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Athlon Sports (Digital) - 1 Issue, 2021 National College Football

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