Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular

December 2, 2025

The Illini were able to outlast Northwestern in the first Snowmaggedon game since 1993. It was fun to see the team win their 8^th game and to see Luke Altmyer win yet another game for the Illini. Appreciate Luke for what he’s done and lets all hope his last game is the upcoming bowl game – not the Northwestern game. Selfishly, I want to see him play in the Orange and Blue one more time!

The Illini basketball team lost to UConn, though the team had a strong second half. This disappointing loss means the Tennessee game and Missouri game are important wins in building the Illini’s strong NCAA resume.

I’d also like to see this team get healthy. That may not ever happen, but they have talent if they can all play together in practice and games at 100%, they could be really good.

Hail Mary #1 – Bielema Trusts Talent Assessment Skills

The Fighting Illini football team picked up three highly ranked JUCO players last week. All three are considered as capable of competing for a starting position – CB Jakwon Morris (a former USC commit), OT TJ Taylor and OT Alfred Washington. Not stopping there, Illinois is also recruiting players like LB/S Archie Chambers and WR Keon Hutchins (a former West Virginia commit).

This approach of trying to land potential starters is a fantastic way to stock a roster at lower price points, thus saving dollars for higher cost positions particularly quarterback. The Illini have many areas to address on the roster and saving money for capable starters just means more talent can be acquired.

This approach is like the process Curt Cignetti has used with Indiana to recruit talented players to the Hoosiers that Cignetti recruited while at James Madison. These players from P4 and JUCO are in less demand and at a lower cost because of the perception that their chance of making a team is theoretically lower as they have come from “lower levels” of college football.

This strategy has one huge risk. If a player is incorrectly assessed, they aren’t B1G material. They aren’t starters. They will be a waste of money and a valuable roster spot(s).

If executed properly with quality talent assessments, this strategy of recruiting “low-cost difference makers” can be an exponential force multiplier.

Just ask Hoosier fans.

Hail Mary #2 – Big Conference Conundrum

The B1G is famous, or maybe notorious, for wanting automatic qualifiers determined by conference for entrance into the CFP. If the B1G had their way this year, there would be 4 bids for the CFP in play in the B1G, and we would be looking at the possibility of three games this weekend, not just one championship game.

• #1 Ohio State vs #2 Indiana for the B1G championship. Both teams would go to the CFP, but the winner would be guaranteed a top 4 seed.
• #6 Oregon vs Iowa – the #3 team in the B1G standings versus the #6 team in the B1G standings for the right to go to the CFP. The winner would also have a solid win for their CFP ranking.
• #17 USC vs #15 Michigan – the #4 team in the B1G standings versus the #5 team in the B1G standings for the right to go to the CFP. Again, the winner would also have a solid win for their CFP ranking.

In the SEC, and using the ESPN conference standings (but the SEC would have their own tiebreakers) you might see three cool games such as:

• #4 Georgia Bulldogs vs #10 Alabama - SEC championship. Both teams would go to the CFP, but the winner might be guaranteed a top 4 seed.
• #7 Ole Miss vs #8 Oklahoma – the #3 team in the SEC standings versus the #6 team in the SEC standings for the right to go to the CFP. The winner would also have a solid win for their CFP ranking.
• #3 Texas A&M vs #16 Texas – the #4 team in the B1G standings versus the #5 team in the B1G standings for the right to go to the CFP. Again, the winner would also have a solid win for their CFP ranking. And a rematch of last week's game would be uber-cool.

This would’ve been a fun weekend for football fans. Going to the CFP, fans would have games that have stone cold serious consequences for teams involved making it worth fan time to watch.

Hail Mary #1 – Two Crazy Things

• Crazy Thing #1 - The Fighting Illini have one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the country. And yet, the team has a bunch of nagging injuries with both Ivišić brothers and Petrovic currently nursing injuries. As a fan, the bad luck of having nagging injuries hit the Illini regularly is frustrating. Maybe the technology for rehab that is in the Illini training room will win the battle and get these guys back and in fighting shape by the beginning of the new year.
• Crazy Thing #2 - When it comes to European players adapting to the collegiate game, it appears to be a culture shock. The physicality of the game and the athleticism of the players seem to be more than what one sees in European leagues. Somehow the coaching staff must increase the physicality in practice to mimic what will be happening in B1G games – but do it without killing anyone. Clearly these European players are talented, but their expectations for what is and is not a foul need to be adjusted. When they understand what they’re up against and expect to be bumped aggressively, they will be in a much better head space to play on without distraction.