Illinois is incredibly close to building something special

Thank god they survived.

This first third of the season has not been the easiest for Illinois, so I understand there to be some doubt among the fans. I know I was bullish on the season, with expectations to sail through these first four games unscathed, but this is Illinois football, and games like the last four are a dime a dozen.

But as fans, we need to have our team’s back, and I understand that in the last 162 games, Illinois has been, for the lack of better words, garbage.

Out of 68 Power 5 teams in FBS, Illinois is only ahead of Kansas and Colorado and tied with Vanderbilt. We all know where Kansas and Colorado are today.

But to put it into a bit more perspective, Bret Bielema has won 15 of Illinois’ last 162 games. With 12 games in a season, Bret Bielema, in the last 2.3 years, has won 24% of all wins in the last 14 years. Barry Lunney’s offense has 16% of those victories.

That’s after four staff turnovers and six head coaches.

That is where Illinois is today. And…