Even after last year's disappointing 5-7 record, I am excited about the 2009 Illini football team. National expectations are not particularly high as most analysts are unable to look beyond win-loss record. Yet Illinois outgained its opponents by 85 yards per game last year, meaning they were a lot more talented than their record suggests. Accordingly, Phil Steele, the most statistically astute of the preseason magazine writers, has Illinois ranked #19 in the country in his preseason Top 25. And perhaps even more significantly, Illinois is currently listed with an over/under of 8 wins at vegasinsider.com, meaning that the betting market is counting on serious improvement for Illinois this year.
I believe that Illinois is capable of winning the Big 10 this year. I also believe that while they will almost certainly finish with a winning record, a disappointing 6-6 season is not out of the question. To gain a better idea of Illinois' strengths and weaknesses this year, I am going to preview the different Illinois units and then examine how they will coalesce.
Passing Offense
Rushing Offense
Passing Defense
Rushing Defense
Special Teams
Coaching
Schedule
Forecast
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