The 88 Illini: #52-#49

I still have this sense that people aren't getting it. I've kept the section below the "recent posts" section on the front page (where I can feature a certain series) as last season's "NERDstats" posts because I wanted "How You Might Be Missing It" to continue to catch people's eye. The final section of that post was called "Smith Barney" and I went through how Bret Bielema went through this rebuild the old fashioned way - he earned it. The main premise:

10-3 in 2024. 9-4 in 2025. One NFL draft pick in 2024. Three NFL draft picks in 2024. The 2022 defense (and the 8-5 season) was built on the backs of a defense that had six starters who would become NFL draft picks. But the 2024 and 2025 Illini teams were just built on "team." To wit:

• Michigan had 13 players picked in the 2025 and 2026 drafts and went 17-9.
• Iowa had 12 players picked in the 2025 and 2026 drafts and went 17-9.
• Illinois had four players picked in the 2025 and 2026 drafts and went 19-7.

That should make you feel the warmest of warm fuzzies. That should help you sleep for the next decade. That should cause you to climb down from your lifeguard chair, knowing that you no longer need to scan the waters for signs of a drowning football program. But many people I've talked to are... still up there?

Hear me now. The point is not that everything is fixed and we're going to go 10-2 this fall. Hell, we could go 5-7 with only eight starters back and a system overhaul being implemented. The point is that we can rest assured that even if there's a blip, it's just due to retooling and once the changes are implemented, the factory will be cranking out even more wins that before. You shouldn't be at "I need to check for signs that it might all fall apart and then send out a warning!" You should be at "what if, after this retooling is complete, the program is even better?"

The reason I wrote "How You Might Be Missing It" is because I want everyone to enjoy this. If we go 6-6 this fall I want everyone to ABSOLUTELY ENJOY the "what went wrong?" discussions with the full knowledge that it will improve next season. This is who we were...

...and if you can't celebrate being released from that prison, I don't know how to help you. Maybe you're just one of those people who should commit another crime so you can go back to jail. A cool breeze in a sunny meadow with the freedom to do whatever you want just wasn't meant for you.

This whole idea of issuing a warning is silly anyway. Oh, what, you think a team that lost its quarterback, offensive line, and defensive line which is taking this moment to overhaul the defensive scheme is going to take a step back from 19-7 over the last two seasons? Look at you, Nostradamus. Have any stock tips?

I'll stop. This is coming from a good place, I swear. I just don't want people to miss how much fun this is. Save your "win big OR ELSE" for the basketball season and really try to enjoy this fall. It will be different, it will be new, and it will be interesting. 8-4? 5-7? Who cares? We finally get to have that debate!

I can't get enough of it.