How Illinois Football can Keep momentum rolling

Can Illinois Football Cash In on a 3-0 Start, Top-25 Ranking?

The 24th-ranked Illinois Football team is off to a hot 3-0 start, following a 30-9 win over Central Michigan on Homecoming.

After sweeping their non-conference slate of Eastern Illinois, Kansas, and Central Michigan, Bret Bielema‘s undefeated squad looks much better than many in the national media had previously anticipated. Furthermore, momentum remains in the corner of the orange and blue heading into this week’s huge matchup with #22 Nebraska.

Sep 14, 2024;  Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Win 2 games vs Nebraska, Penn State, Michigan, or Oregon

In week four, Illinois will get a crack at Dylan Raiola and the #22 Cornhuskers in Lincoln on Friday night (9/20). It is the first road test of the season for the Fighting Illini. Nebraska is also off to a great start to their season and Matt Rhule has the Huskers 3-0, with wins over UTEP, Colorado, and Northern Iowa.

If the Illini can hold their own, and win a game in the gauntlet of #22 Nebraska, #18 Michigan, #9 Oregon, and #10 Penn State, they will really set themselves up well for a very winnable final 4 games of the season. Imagine if Illinois were to pull off a couple of upsets, going into Minnesota, Michigan State, Rutgers, and Northwestern.

Take care of the winnable opponents on the schedule, and give yourself a real shot at those 3-4 very good teams.

Sustained strong attendance.

Week 2’s sell-out against Kansas was a special and rocking environment. Illinois had true home-field advantage, and pulled off the win, sending fans home from Memorial Stadium ready for more. Furthermore, this led to the 50,000+ that attended the week 3 matchup with Central Michigan. The Illini faithful is excited and willing to continue showing up in numbers.

The Fighting Illini’s next two home tests are against Purdue and Michigan. Both teams have heavily struggled to start the season. A win over Nebraska, Penn State, or both, would almost certainly mean sellouts once again. However, you must continue momentum, and can’t get thumped by the Huskers or the Nittany Lions in the next two games.

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