Illinois Football: 3 Bold Predictions for the 2024 Season

Illinois Football is heading into what seems like a crossroads year. It is year four of the Bret Bielema era and fans are looking for that next step. Bielema has delivered so far as the head man at Illinois. His 18-19 overall record at Illinois is miles better than his predecessors and he exudes a confident competence that this program has sorely lacked. Despite this, fans are growing weary. Illinois Football is a very tough job, and fans expect to win, otherwise they simply check out.

If Bielema and his crew cannot deliver this year, he risks fan engagement plummeting back to when he first arrived. With such an important year ahead, here are Armchair Illini’s three bold takes heading into the 2024 season.

1) Kaden Feagin will rush for over 1000 yards

This one may not be as bold and seems rather obvious. Kaden Feagin lit a fire under a struggling offense last year and looked like a number-one back as a true freshman. In a few games, he rushed for 438 total yards and showed he is a factor in the pass game. Feagin should receive a heavy workload heading into his sophomore season. He also has a talented stable of backs backing him up so that he does not get overworked.

Kaden Feagin is a budding star for the Illini and he will rush for over 1000 yards this year.

2) The Defense will struggle once again

Aaron Henry is in a difficult position. He was thrown head-first into the defensive coordinator job and struggled despite having some talented pieces. Now, all eyes are on him for a rebound as the Illini hope to get back to that stout defense that made them so successful in 2022. However, the pieces really lack. They have some unproven pieces at the nose tackle position and they lack depth on the secondary. Make no mistake, Terrance Brooks, Miles Scott, Matthew Bailey and Tyler Strain are solid Big Ten pieces.

However, if an injury occurs at any spot on the defense, the Illini are in huge trouble. Lucky enough for Henry, the Illini offense should be able to help out and maintain long possessions.

3) Illinois Football wins six games and makes a bowl game.

Bret Bielema understands the urgency of this year. Despite some missed opportunities, Bret Bielema has given the Illini a chance in nearly every single game they have played in. In fact, the last two years they let go of at least three or four wins.

Though Illini fans are used to seeing the wheels fall off, look for some things to finally go the Illini’s way. Can they finally get that marquee victory at home? Perhaps against the likes of a Kansas? That home game vs the Jayhawks seems like the ultimate litmus test on how the 2024 season will unravel.

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