Illinois Football Opens 2025 Season with Huge Point Spread vs WIU

NEWS: ESPN has released its predicted point spread for next Friday’s (August 29) season opener at Memorial Stadium, with Illinois Football set to host a struggling Western Illinois Leathernecks program in Champaign. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 PM CT (on Peacock), and seemingly, fans should be ready for a big night – as ESPN is expecting Bret Bielema’s highly anticipated 2025 squad to run away with this one in blowout fashion.

As it stands, Illinois opens as a whopping 45.5-point favorite over the Leathernecks at home per ESPN, who over the past five seasons have limped to a 4-47 record (all 4 wins in 2024) as a member of the FCS’s Missouri Valley Conference, in addition to making four head coaching changes during that span. After a recent transition and now entering their first season in the Ohio Valley Conference (South), hopes are high that tangible improvement will continue in year two of the Joe Davis era in Macomb. However, kicking off the season against an in-state Big Ten foe, on the road, is quite a monumental challenge.

The last time these programs faced off was back in 2018, during year three of the Lovie Smith era. Despite a too-close-for-comfort start, the Illini eventually pulled away for a 34-14 win, led by freshman quarterback MJ Rivers after starter AJ Bush Jr. suffered an early leg injury that sidelined him for most of the game.

Can Illinois Football capitalize on a struggling opponent to start off a big 2025 season on the right foot? If so, a big win could knock the rust off and provide a nice boost of momentum and confidence for Bielema’s veteran roster ahead of a massive Week 2 road matchup against Manny Diaz and the Duke Blue Devils in Durham.

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