INITIAL SAGARIN RANKINGS FOR 2022-23



1 Gonzaga

2 Baylor

3 Kansas

4 Duke

5 Kentucky

6 Houston

7 North Carolina

8 Michigan

9 Illinois

10 UCLA

11 Indiana

12 Texas

13 Purdue

14 Villanova

15 Tennessee

16 Michigan State

17 Arkansas

18 Texas Tech

19 Arizona

20 Ohio State

21 Creighton

22 Iowa

23 Virginia

24 Auburn

25 San Diego State

Illinois football is relevant. Usually about this time, almost no one cares and all the talk is about basketball.

It's nice to be talked about consistently on BTN along with the OSU, Michigan, and Penn State. It's nice to lock up a bowl appearance before November and have a reason to watch this month.

And all the possibilities that could potentially happen. Chase Brown being mentioned for Heisman. Illini winning the B1G West. Being ranked in the CFP polls and the remote possibility to be in the playoffs.

I love my basketball too but I hope that from now on, that program will share the hype in November with the football program.

I also hope that many Illini fans who care only about basketball will get on board and follow football too.

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is Quincey game on BTN 2go -
either way is there a way to watch it?

Illinois women's basketball coach Shauna Green held a press conference on Monday. The WBB team has an exhibition game on Friday vs. Quincy then opens the season at home next Wednesday vs. LIU Brooklyn.

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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – A trio of Fighting Illini standouts – RB Chase Brown, DB Devon Witherspoon, and DL Jer'Zhan Newton – were named among the top offensive and defensive players in the nation on Tuesday when the Maxwell Football Club released the 2022 semifinalists for the 86th Maxwell Award for the Collegiate Player of the Year and the 28th Chuck Bednarik Award for the Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year.

Brown, the nation's leading rusher, is one of 20 offensive players, representing 17 programs, on the Maxwell semifinalist list; Witherspoon and Newton – anchors of the Illini's top-ranked defense - are two of 20 players from 18 programs, on the Bednarik semifinalist list.

Illinois is one of seven programs with representatives on both lists, and the Illini's three honorees are tied with Ohio State for the most in the Big Ten and second nationally only to Alabama's four. Illinois and Alabama are the only two programs with multiple representatives on the Bednarik list.

CHASE BROWN | MAXWELL AWARD SEMIFINALIST​

• Nation's leading rusher with 1,208 yards
• Only the fourth Power-5 running back since 2000 to rush for 100+ yards in his first eight games while leading his team to a 7-1 record or better (Ezekiel Elliott, 2015 Ohio State; Adrian Peterson, 2004 Oklahoma; JJ Arrington, 2004 Cal)
• Leads in the nation in rushes of 10+ yards (36) and 100-yard games (8)
• Second in the nation in all-purpose yards (1,328) without having return duties
• Second in the nation in yards after contact (707) and forced missed tackles (60), according to PFF
• Ranks fifth in the nation with 57 first down runs, according to PFF
• Leads the nation in rushing attempts per game (28.0)
• Has rushed for 100+ yards in an Illinois record nine straight games
• The only player in the nation to rush for 100+ in his last nine team games
• Ranks fifth on Illinois career rushing list with 2,771 yards
• No. 8 on the NCAA's active career leaders rushing list with 3,123 yards (including 352 as a freshman at Western Michigan)

DEVON WITHERSPOON | BEDNARIK AWARD SEMIFINALIST​

• Midseason All-American by PFF (1st Team) and The Athletic (2nd Team)
• Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist
• Highest graded cornerback in the nation by PFF (89.5)
• Has the best coverage grade in the country according to PFF (90.8)
• Ranks tied for first nationally in forced incompletions by PFF (13)
• Has a 31 percent reception percentage against, the No. 3 mark in the country and best in the Big Ten among cornerbacks
• Ranks second in the nation in passes defended per game (1.8)

JER'ZHAN NEWTON | BEDNARIK AWARD SEMIFINALIST​

• Midseason All-American by the Associated Press and The Athletic
• Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List
• No. 4-graded interior defensive lineman in the nation by PFF (min. 250 snaps)
• Leads the Illini in tackles (39.0) and sacks (5.0), and is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss (9.0)
• First in the nation in QB hits with 15 and is second in the nation in QB pressures with 39, according to PFF (min. 250 snaps)

MAXWELL & BEDNARIK AWARD SEMIFINALIST​

Maxwell

• Bryce Young – Alabama, QB
• Jahmyr Gibbs – Alabama, RB
• Brock Bowers – Georgia, TE
• Chase Brown – Illinois, RB
• Blake Corum – Michigan, RB
• Drake Maye – North Carolina, QB
• Michael Mayer – Notre Dame, TE
• CJ Stroud – Ohio State, QB
• Marvin Harrison Jr. – Ohio State, WR
• Bo Nix – Oregon, QB
• Israel Abanikanda – Pittsburgh, RB
• Max Duggan – TCU, QB
• Hendon Hooker – Tennessee, QB
• Jalin Hyatt – Tennessee, WR
• Bijan Robinson – Texas, RB
• DeWayne McBride – UAB, RB
• Zach Charbonnet – UCLA, RB
• Caleb Williams – USC, QB
• Cam Rising – Utah, QB
• Michael Penix Jr. – Washington QB

Bednarik

• Will Anderson Jr. – Alabama, LB
• Kool-Aid McKinstry – Alabama, CB
• Drew Sanders – Arkansas, LB
• Ivan Pace Jr. – Cincinnati, LB
• Tyler Davis – Clemson, DT
• Christopher Smith – Georgia, S
• Jer'Zhan Newton – Illinois, DT
• Devon Witherspoon – Illinois, CB
• Jack Campbell – Iowa, LB
• Felix Anudike-Uzomah – Kansas State, DE
• Mike Morris – Michigan, DE
• Emmanuel Forbes – Mississippi State, CB
• Tommy Eichenberg – Ohio State, LB
• Jason Henderson – Old Dominion, LB
• Joey Porter Jr. – Penn State, CB
• Calijah Kancey – Pitt, DT
• Tyree Wilson – Texas Tech, LB
• Tuli Tuipulotu – USC, DT
• Clark Phillips III – Utah, CB
• John Torchio – Wisconsin, S

Bret Bielema: "I think we'll get one here in the next 24 hours".

Texas (-2.5) at #13 Kansas State

It was -3.0 just a while ago. Is this the result of a million Longhorn fans blindly throwing money down on their team?

TD Pose versus Wyoming


5th on Heisman Ballot for one person (1st RB)

Illinois wins it 26-9 to improve to 7-1.

Once Casey Thompson was knocked out is was over.

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* Quincy coach Steve Hawkins was the head coach at Western Michigan for a long time. This is his second stint at QU. He and Brad Underwood have known each other for years, so that's how this game materialized. Quincy is DII and are kind of starting over with Hawkins coming back, but they will guard both in the half court and in transition.

* I don't like the plan to play a lot of 5 out if that means Terrence Shannon Jr. becomes the primary ball-handler. He's the Illini's best scorer. He can bring the ball up on occasion. That's fine. But they need a primary ball handler in the lineup.

* It's generally believed that if they play a point guard it will be Skyy Clark or Jayden Epps, but I would add Ty Rodgers to that discussion. He's probably the best passer on the team. I'd worry a little about him turning it over, though. He mostly goes to his right, and he's a bit high when handling the ball. Clark is the best scorer of the 3. Epps is strongest with the ball.

* 3-point shooting is a big key for Coleman Hawkins. I like him in attack mode and crashing the glass like in the second-half of last season, and that would be fine this year. But if he is to take a leap forward like some are projecting, his perimeter shooting needs to be better. He rushed things and the shot was flat last year. I'd like to see him improve like Jacob Grandison did.

* Matthew Mayer is going to be a problem for Quincy. 6-foot-10, excellent motor, and he should get a bunch of rebounds. Bad matchup for the Hawks.

* Expect to see some sloppy play. Illinois has the skill sets to attack off the bounce, but they haven't done it all that much. The narrative after this game will be 1. we aren't ready for the season yet, and 2. we need to recalibrate the rotation.

* On most nights, the small-ball lineup will be fine. It will have issues with bigger teams in the Big Ten like Purdue and Michigan.

* The first part of the season people will be talking about 1. subpar 3-point shooting, 2. the need for a veteran PG that wasn't achieved through the Portal, 3. Turnovers. 4. Excessive fouling.

Remember, Underwood teams tend to start slow and that' s amplified when it's a rebuilt roster and new style of play. They will be better in February as usual. This team has a chance to be good, but there will be hiccups early.

* I'm looking forward to seeing Dain Dainja. Finally. He's the mystery man. I've seen every player play live except Dainja and Sencire Harris.

Questions?

https://www.mlive.com/sports/2022/10/michigan-michigan-state-players-fight-in-postgame-tunnel.html
Will any of the MSU players face suspensions from the post game altercation?

They have only given up 71 points all year!!!!!

Christian McCaffery????

I'm one of the few reporters who actually thinks PFF does a decent job.

This week is jacked up. I can't really put together a worthy story with these numbers.

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Expecting Illinois in the 12-14 range.

Illinois reminds of the Steelers under Bret Bielema. Thoughts?

I like this kid. Strong, athletic, excellent scorer off the bounce.

He doesn't have a committable offer from Illinois yet, but he's one to watch this season.

Riddle is a cautionary tale for kids looking to transfer to top prep schools. He didn't get to play much at AZ Compass, and his recruitment stalled.