Illinois coach still swinging for the fences

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Nov. 8—CHAMPAIGN — No surprise, Illinois wasn't included in the initial College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday.

With three losses, Illinois wasn't expected to make the cut.

Only one three-loss team was on the initial list: 6-3 Tennessee.

But the inclusion of the Volunteers gives Illinois hope in future rankings. Especially, when you consider the team's three losses came to No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana and No. 23 Washington.

"The way the whole postseason works now, I'm still believing there's a chance for the playoff," Illinois coach Bret Bielema said. "As this thing kind of all plays out, I think there will be a three-loss team to get in the playoffs this year. I don't think there's any doubt that that will happen."

Illinois' best win is against Southern California, which is No. 19 in the CFP rankings.

Tennessee's losses, by comparison, came against No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia and No. 12 Oklahoma.

The difference is the type of games. All three Illinois losses were by double-digits, while Tennessee lost by three, three and six points.

Actually, as I see it, Tennessee might be close to topped out checking in at No. 25. The Volunteers have only one ranked team remaining: No. 16 Vanderbilt. Tennessee also has Group of Five school New Mexico State — plus Florida, which has already fired its coach — left on its schedule.

No peeking

Yes, Bielema's team is bowl eligible. But he isn't worried too much about the possible destinations.

"All we can do is control the controllables," he said. "I think it's very important for our guys to lock into that thought. It's very similar to the guys that were with us a year ago. For us to get to where we want to be, we've got to take care of Week One."

In this case that is the open week, which is followed by two home games against Maryland (Nov. 15) and Northwestern (Nov. 29) and a road trip to play Wisconsin (Nov. 22).

Looking ahead

With no game to prepare for this weekend, Illinois got plenty of work in with the younger guys. All of the regulars had Thursday's practice off, while the developmental players went at it.

"Trying to get a good look at guys who have returning ability to be a part of our roster, kind of see where they're at and put the screws on them a little bit," Bielema said.

For practical purposes, the third unit moved to the second unit and the second unit became the first string.

The team also got a jump on prep for Maryland, which visits Champaign-Urbana a week from now for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff.

Maryland has another game first, Saturday afternoon at Rutgers.

"I want to give our guys a good frame of mind to watch that game on Saturday and take a good picture of it," Bielema said.

Sizing them up

Though Illinois would jump at a chance to have Luke Altmyer return for another year at quarterback, his eligibility is up at the end of this season.

So, what's next?

Ethan Hampton, a Northern Illinois transfer, is spending this year backing up Altmyer and can return in 2026.

"He came in last December, very impressive, very mature," Bielema said. "He's played a lot of football. Obviously been in a big-game environment. Only two teams beat Notre Dame a year ago and he was one of them. That's been impressive. He sees the game extremely well. He's got great composure (and has) been a great blend into our locker room."

Recruiting never ends

Illinois currently has 24 high school players who have made commitments to join the team for 2026.

"I think we'll go as high as 30 depending on where our number is at, guys that may transition out of here," Bielema said.

He said 29 members of the current team will be out of eligibility and move on. Then, another 10 or so who will transition elsewhere.

An added dynamic is the high number of programs that either have or will change coaches. Often, players at those schools go back into the recruiting market.

"We kind of forecast teams that might be going through transition," Bielema said. "Just being proactive in what we're doing. It's really a very interesting time."

Adding players is enhanced at Illinois because of Bielema's job security. He has a long, expensive contract and an athletic director in Josh Whitman in his corner.

Bielema was talking to a player in the portal recently who had seen his coach fired.

"He's gone on two back-to-back visits and the week after he went to both those visits, the coach got fired," Bielema said. "I said, 'Brother, I promise you, I'm good.' The support we're getting from the administration is unprecedented."

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