Sturdy's Rewind: Time To Believe

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 . . .

 

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