Michigan St., Ohio St., Nebraska Still Top Big Ten Power Rankings Week 7
Saturday Blitz Big Ten Power Rankings Week 7
Face it. The Fighting Illini haven’t beaten anybody worth mentioning yet. In the meantime, they’ve lost to good and bad teams. This team is 3-4 and winless in Big Ten play, and it’s enough for us to say they are the worst team in the Big Ten. It also could spell bad news for Tim Beckman, who was already on the hot seat.
Once again, this Illinois team doesn’t play defense, giving up 36 points a game. After a 38-28 loss to Wisconsin, we can confirm that even more. A group that relies heavily on the passing game obviously has caught a bad break as well without Wes Lunt, and Reilly O’Toole certainly didn’t look like the answer Saturday, even though he was efficient. With no rushing attack, if Illinois can’t put up 300 passing yards a game, they are in trouble.
And yes, they are in trouble. Minnesota and Ohio State are up next on the schedule, and those are most likely losses. Assuming they can’t beat those teams, to actually get to a bowl game they have to pull out wins against Iowa, Penn State, and Northwestern. Doing that may be possible, but it isn’t likely.
And for that, right now, Illinois is the worst team in the conference.