After a momentous 2024 season, the Illinois Football program appears to be trending in the right direction. Now, Bret Bielema’s squad faces the challenge of meeting sky-high expectations in 2025, with Fighting Illini fans hoping the team can build on its momentum. The million-dollar question remains: Can the Illini finally follow up on a successful season and establish a trend of consistency?
Unfortunately, the orange and blue faithful have often seen promising progression fade when the team ultimately fails to follow up on success. More recent examples include:
2008: Following a Rose Bowl appearance in 2007, coach Ron Zook and the Illini went 5-7 in 2008.
2023: The Illini couldn’t secure a bowl game in 2023 after coach Bielema and QB Tommy Devito assisted the program to a breakout 8-win season, and a Redbox bowlappearance in 2022. (The Illini’s best season since 2008)
After glimpses of greatness in years past, Illinois has struggled to maintain that momentum. This time, however, the Illini are determined to break the pattern.
At his open press availability on Wednesday (3/12), following spring practice #1, Quarterback Luke Altmyer acknowledged the heightened expectations and stated that the team is not only aware of them—they’re fully embracing the challenge head-on.
Altmyer Discussing Heightened Expectations for Illinois Football in 2025
“We’d be lying if we didn’t ask for it, or, didn’t want it,” says Altmyer, in reference to the high bar being set for Illinois Football in 2025.
“This isa position that we wanted to be in. To be able to be talked about, to be able to have expectations upon us, even though it comes with a lot of pressure. But man, pressure is a privilege. We asked for it. We’d much rather be in this position being talked about, than a couple of years ago being talked about in a negative way.
At the end of the day, it’s all talk. In 2025, everybody is 0-0, nobody’s won a game, and everybody’s got 15 spring practices, and however many practices you get in the summer/fall to be your best team, and your best self. With Coach B, the whole mindset is that our biggest opponent is us. We can either listen to that and embrace it, and consume it, or, you can get complacent and satisfied. That’ll ultimately lead to some bad things – failure. We got a good group mentally, that embraces that role, and creates leadership. That’s where it starts – Coach B and all of our coaches.
If we do what we do, it’s really shown to lead to success – so that’s what we’ll carry with us all year. I carry that with me every single day, even outside of this building.”
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Kirkland is an expert source for Illinois athletics news. He is the lead Football analyst at Armchair Illini and has been featured in top media publications like Bleacher Report, Yard Barker, Autograph, Newsbreak, CBS Sports and more.
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