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National pundit RJ Young is not happy with the outlook for the 2024 Illinois football season
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National pundit RJ Young is not happy with the outlook for the 2024 Illinois football season

Even though Illinois football is one game out of a bowl berth in 2023, Fox Sports’ RJ Young doesn’t see Bret Bielema’s team as a formidable contender in the new 18-team Big Ten conference.

Ahead of the 2024 season opener against Eastern Illinois on Thursday, Aug. 29 (9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT) on Big Ten Network, Young ranked the Illini 87th out of 134 FBS teams and 16th in the conference. They were just ahead of Purdue (88), the only Big Ten team near the bottom of the list. To put that in context, UCLA, which also joined the Big Ten along with Oregon, USC and Washington, is ranked 74th despite lower expectations in the West.

Young’s criteria for ranking teams is simple: How well have they recruited? Did they make it to a bowl game last season? Are there any notable returning starters and, most importantly, how have they fared in the transfer portal?

Although Illinois avoids Ohio State, USC and Washington, it plays highly ranked Oregon and hosts defending champion Michigan.

Along with those factors, Young said it’s easier said than done that Illinois can succeed in the long run. Despite Illinois’ intent to run the ball, there are few programs that can succeed year after year.

While Illinois has done some good things in recent years, it has yet to recapture the 20th-century magic that made it a strong program.

The question remains whether Bielema, who is entering his fourth season as coach, is the right person to lead them back to the path of consistency.

Zain Bando is a contributor for Illinois Fighting Illini On SI. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on X @zainbando99

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