Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular

October 6, 2025

The Illinois Fighting Illini football team still hasn’t been able to put together a complete game of solid execution to this point in the season, but they sit at 5-1. I can pretty much keep typing the same sentence each week and the Illini keep making me an accurate reporter. Against Purdue, the Illini outscored the Boilermakers 40-14 in the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters. In the 1^st and 4^th quarters the Illini were outscored 13-3.

This leads to the question of how good could this team perform with 4 quarters that look like the 2^nd and 3^rd against Purdue? What would that look like? To me those are interesting questions to ponder. Yet, I find something else even more intriguing.

What I find amazing is that in his first five years at Illinois, Bret Bielema has taken Illini fans on a journey. Early in his tenure, fans were just hoping for the team to not embarrass themselves or the fanbase on any given Saturday.

That’s a long way from where the Illini fans are today.

Now, the legions of Illini fans are growing, and they have much higher expectations. The team defeated Purdue 43-27 for a B1G road win. And fans are disappointed as they wanted a bigger win. Change the outcome of a couple of plays and maybe the Illini win the game at a more satisfying 43-13.

That disappointment is a far cry from the “I hope we don’t get embarrassed” mindset of just five years prior.

It must be annoying for the coaching staff, but higher fan expectations should be embraced by the coaching staff and players as proof of how effective they have been on the field during the Bielema era.

Coach Bielema and the staff need to take the compliment, even if the delivery of the compliment can be a bit annoying.

Hail Mary #1 – Weird Stat

Hank Beatty ended up just 3 yards away from having the 9^th best day an Illini receiver has ever had from a receiving yards standpoint. He would’ve knocked David Williams and Rex Smith down as they finished with 188 yards in their respective games.

Having a great receiving yards day is an incredible accomplishment, but it’s how Hank got his 186 yards that makes the accomplishment so amazing.

When one looks at a list of the top 10 Illini receiving yards games, AJ Jenkins leads the way with 12 catches for 268 yards. The least number of catches was Pat Bryant with 8 catches for 197 yards last year against Rutgers.

Hank Beatty got his 186 yards receiving on only 5 catches. If Luke Altmyer found Hank open one or two more times, he might’ve made an assault on the record.

Either way, what a game it was for the Rochester, Illinois wide receiver. Nice work Hank.

Hail Mary #2 – If I Were a Great College Quarterback

If I’m a great college quarterback with dreams of playing in the NFL, I am transferring to Miami.

Why would I say that so definitively?

• They have the money for a huge NIL payoff.
• They have South Beach with the sun, the surf, and the sand.
• They also have a conference where I don’t have to get beat up every week or every other week like the SEC and the B1G.

As the Miami quarterback, I would drop back in the pocket on most of my Saturday afternoons certain that I will have the time to pick apart defenses, stack up statistics, and get ready for a CFP run before the NFL Draft in the spring.

Then, afterwards I go to South Beach to celebrate after the game.

Talk about preparation for being the next big star quarterback in the NFL.

Sign me up.

Hail Mary #3 – What is Next for Penn State?

The Penn State Nittany Lions had huge expectations coming into this season. Penn State was supposed to be an “automatic” CFP team – along with Ohio State and Oregon coming out of the B1G. The “final” B1G CFP spot was coming from a group of contenders – Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, USC, Washington or another dark horse (see Indiana last season).

So many big things were going to happen for Penn State this season:

• Drew Allar was supposed to be demonstrating his fitness to be the first quarterback drafted in the 2026 NFL Draft.
• James Franklin was finally going to get past the Michigan and Ohio State duo that has confounded Penn State for over a decade.
• Penn State was looking to win a national title for the first time since 1986.
• Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki was expected to energize the offense, help Allar rise to the top of the quarterback class and help Franklin win a national championship on Kotelnicki’s way to a big-time coaching position.

Now, after a second loss in a row, these goals are at risk. The season gets harder as Penn State’s schedule progresses with games like:

• At Iowa - where the Hawkeyes slow teams down and make their opponents play Iowa style ball
• At Ohio State – there’s no way to underscore the importance of this game.
• Versus Indiana – last year’s golden child looks even more formidable this season.
• Versus Nebraska – a team that is still largely untested, but Penn State may be a “must-win” game for the Huskers and that makes it a dangerous game.

If Franklin and his team can salvage the season by going undefeated the rest of the way, they’ll be deserving of a CFP bid.

I just don’t see that happening for the Nittany Lions.