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By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

September 9, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Ashley Ray/Illinois Athletics)

I hope everyone is enjoying the afterglow of the biggest Illini non-conference road victory in a generation.  Duke is a pretty good team, picked for 6th in the 17-team ACC, and the Illini ran away from the Blue Devils and generally outclassed the Dukies in a 45-19 laugher.  I was especially impressed by the coaching staff's adjustments on both sides of the ball.  Duke likes to run a scheme based on quickness and penetration on defense and the Illini adjusted mid-first half and changed the game quickly.  And on defense, despite missing their leader, the Illini shut down the Duke running game and packed the middle of the defense to take control of the game on that side of the ball too.

I'm going to start this week's breakdown on the offensive side with a play that exemplifies the difficulties that Illinois had early on.  Under Barry Lunney Jr., the Illini don't like to run up the middle unless they've spread out the defense, but to do that you have to be able to test the edges of the defense running and passing, and that didn't work very well on Saturday.  Even though Aidan Laughery had a great individual effort here to earn five yards, this is an example of what didn't work for the Illini on Saturday.  Illinois earned only 2.9 yards per carry on Saturday and most of that was in the second half after the Illini overcommitted to running up the gut while assigning its tight ends to block Duke's undersized defensive ends one on one.  Illinois likes to run reach and combo blocks in order to run off tackle, but that doesn't work when the defender can get to the edge before the blocker.  Illinois' blockers lose across the board on this one as they try to run a simple stretch play and Laughery bails them out.  As an aside, we're going to need Laughery to heal quickly because as much as I love Kaden Feagin and CaLil Valentine, Lunney has done his best work when he has several skillsets to choose from, and the Illini don't know what they have in Cedric Wyche.  I would look for the Illini to install a play or two specifically for Wyche in practice this week to try out against Western Michigan.

The $100 million gift from Larry Gies announced Tuesday […]

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular September 8, 2025 College […]

IlliniGuys.com discusses specific details of the 45-19 win at Duke this past Saturday. 

By Matt Stevens -  IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 8, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy ESPN)

DURHAM, N.C. — The difference in the first and second half for Illinois’ offensive game plan becomes easier to understand if you envision the Illini’s key components being on a time crunch. 

The proper analogy to describe what Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. and his third-year starting quarterback Luke Altmyer were able to accomplish after getting 30 minutes to look at a Duke defensive front was that they realized it wasn’t so much about what play they called but instead needed to focus on how long Altmyer had the football after the snap. 

The bomb that needed to be defused on Saturday was Duke’s defensive line, specifically Vincent Anthony Jr. - who was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week on Monday following a 3.0-sack performance this weekend in the first 16 minutes of action. Anthony Jr.’s speed rushing logged a career-high three sacks where of the first 10 offensive plays that Lunney Jr. called.

To counter the blitzes, and specifically middle blitzes of Duke, Lunney Jr. clearly decided that the play-action and RPO action he had in the first 15-play script was just not being honored by the Blue Devils defense - and when you evaluate the below average performance of the Illini run game, why would Duke pause at the RPO fake? 

“I think the key for us moving forward isn’t to ditch (the RPO or play-action fakes) but just make our runs look like passes and our passes look more like runs pre-snap,” Lunney said. “And that’s going to take more reps as we go along here in the season. I want it clear that there’s no magic pill that we took at halftime to have more success. That’s not how this works. The adjustments that people talk about are more about figuring out what’s working and getting matchups we liked in the first half more times in the second half.” 

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 8, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's Hudl page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois football program has climbed to No. 9 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll, its highest ranking since December 2001. With national attention on the program and Memorial Stadium expected to be packed Saturday night, the Fighting Illini staff is taking full advantage of the opportunity to host a strong group of recruits for its matchup against Western Michigan.

At 2-0 on the season, Illinois is drawing increased exposure on and off the field. Attendance has skyrocketed, the buzz around the program is louder than ever, and now recruits from across the Midwest are answering invitations to visit Champaign. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

Here’s the list of prospects expected to be in attendance this weekend. The list is likely to grow as the week continues.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 8, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's Hudl page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The recruitment of Oconee County (Ga.) standout Mason Hall is quickly gaining steam as the 6-foot-4, 210-pound tight end continues to impress in the 2027 class. Hall has already pulled in nearly 20 scholarship offers from across the country, including attention from Illinois.

“I have 19 or 20 I think,” Hall said when asked about his current offer list. “Texas Tech, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Texas, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Wake Forest are some of the other bigger ones.”

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

September 8, 2025

Being an Illini football fan has been a labor of love, something that it’s almost impossible to give up and almost impossible to not feel some form of anxiety no matter how far and fast the hype train goes. Even national pundits still doubted the Illini despite the #11 ranking and the 18 returning starters.

They picked Duke, one by one, heading into the game. Duke had the $4 million dollar quarterback, won 9 games a year ago and were at home, of course. And be honest, even Illini fans, despite the bravado, had a fear in the back of their minds, an almost expectation that they would disappoint and let us down once more.

On four different calls Saturday when Illinois needed to move the chains at Duke, Luke Altmyer wasn’t targeting a play call but a player he trusts the most - fourth-year receiver Hank Beatty.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 7, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

DURHAM, N.C. — It’s becoming plainly obvious over the first two weeks that the Illinois pass offense isn’t centered so much around trustworthy play calls but trustworthy players on the field.

On five specific situations where Illinois needed to move the first-down markers, Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer didn’t necessarily run a specific go-to play but just knew that whatever was called, the football probably needed to quickly be in the hands of Hank Beatty.

The fourth-year receiver has quickly become the safety blanket option for Altmyer and Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. when No. 11 Illinois (2-0) was in any kind of difficult situation or a momentum-changing spot.

Illinois moved up two spots following the 45-19 win […]

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 6, 2025

DURHAM, N.C. — Here are the grades coming out of the No. 11 Illini’s' road win at Duke

Run Offense
Illinois was trying to get its offensive linemen on the move to get alleys and creases against an aggressive Duke front and blitzes. The problem was Illinois’ offensive linemen were slow on pulls and slow to get to the perimeter so Illinois couldn’t get its counter or off-tackle run game going at all in the first 30 minutes.

Illinois did a better job of

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 6, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

DURHAM, N.C. — So, here’s a dirty little secret of what you just watched this afternoon and what took place on this Saturday afternoon over three hours and 40 minutes in Durham, North Carolina.

That is what a veteran-based team with years of continuity in the coaching staff and ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, is supposed to do to an unranked team with no home crowd advantage.

Sure, it may seem like a foreign concept or a long-lost memory to many diehard followers of the orange and blue (well, actually, you should actually remember seeing it on the wrong end too many times at Memorial Stadium) but that may be a thing of the past now.

By IlliniGuys Staff September 6, 2025 (Cover photo courtesy […]

On the eve of Illinois’ first road test of the 2025 season, fifth-year head coach Bret Bielema takes solace in the idea that his teams have thrived away from home.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 6, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

DURHAM, N.C. — Please don’t misunderstand Bret Bielema because he couldn’t appreciate the announced attendance of 10,735 students for Illinois’ season opener last Friday night.

The fifth-year head coach is just as pumped at the idea of Illinois already having sold out of three games in a single season for the first time since 2008 and for the third time in the last 35 years (2007, 2008). The University of Illinois athletics department announced Thursday that the game against Southern California on Saturday, Sept. 27, is sold out.

But as he enters his 17th season as a college football head coach, Bielema knows the barometer for how special his team is will be determined away from Memorial Stadium in Champaign-Urbana.

“I would say that one thing going on the road does for a big football team is the routine of road games really allows you to come together as a group,” Bielema said Monday in his weekly media conference at Memorial Stadium.

September 6, 2025 The Illini go on the road […]

No. 11 ILLINOIS AT DUKE

Records: Illinois 1-0; Duke 1-0.

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025: 11 a.m. CST, Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, N.C.

Surface: Grass

Capacity: 35,018

Series notes: The all-time series is tied at 1-1. The last time the two schools have played is 1965 when the Illini won 28-14 seven years after Duke won 15-13 in the first-ever matchup in Durham. Illinois brings a five-game winning streak to Durham, tied for the longest active streak in the Big Ten with reigning national champion Ohio State.

TV: ESPN; Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (color analyst), Taylor McGregor (sideline reporter).

Radio (Illinois): Brian Barnhart (play-by-play), Carey Davis (analyst), Michael Martin (sideline), and Steve Kelly (pre/half/post). The broadcast can be heard live on TuneIn online radio, SiriusXM 382, the SiriusXM App, and at FightingIllini.com/live.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 5, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

The pre-game and post-game handshake on Saturday in Durham, North Carolina will be made between two men who certainly know what adversity looks like in a coaching career.

If one wasn’t aware beforehand that they barely knew each other personally, one might think Illinois head coach Bret Bielema and Duke head coach Manny Diaz have coordinated their messaging on their experience of being previously terminated as a power conference head coach. Bielema has spoken often about how his firing at the University of Arkansas after five seasons forced him to re-evaluate his perspective, confront his approach on things professionally and personally and reset himself with nearly three years in the National Football League “so I could be properly ready for this next opportunity”. Diaz’s words are no different after being terminated by Mack Brown as a defensive coordinator at the University of Texas and then let go as the head coach at the University of Miami (Fla.) while on a December recruiting trip after the 2021 season.