johnson2443 said:

Whoever wrote this article writes like a 3rd grader. Awful. Sorry for off topic but this can’t be a paid journalist

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It's a fan blog essentially.

Just sayin': This could be the "trap game" in 2025.

Cocky or confident? Why Bret Bielema should be bullish about Illinois' College Football Playoff chances​

History says Illinois is due to regress in 2025, but that's not the vibe around the program​

First of all, the core of the team that won 10 games in 2024 is returning. ESPN's Bill Connelly released his returning production rankings for all 134 FBS teams, and Illinois ranks third nationally behind two playoff teams in Clemson and Arizona State. While it won't be easy to replace the production of top receiver Pat Bryant (54 receptions, 984 yards, 10 TD), it's easier to do it when you have your quarterback and entire offensive line returning.

Then there's recruiting. Those fences Bielema had to mend with Illinois high school coaches? Consider them mended. As I write this, Illinois' 2026 recruiting class is ranked seventh nationally, per 247Sports. That's right, seventh. Ahead of programs like Notre Dame, LSU, Georgia, Alabama, and conference foes Ohio State and Michigan. It isn't likely to stay in the top 10, but there's enough optimism around the program on the recruiting front to believe this could still be a top-25 class by the time the early signing period arrives in December.

While that's not enough to launch the program into national title contender status, it's important to note Illinois hasn't had a high school recruiting class finish ranked in the top 25 since 2008 (No. 22). Illinois has had more classes finish outside the top 50 than inside the top 40 since. (The 2025 class was ranked No. 45.) The combination of success on the field and in the NFL Draft, coupled with rekindled relationships with local coaches, is paying major dividends for Bielema and his

Then there's Illinois' 2025 schedule. In 2024, Indiana was a good football team. It was also a good football team that benefitted from a friendly schedule. While Illinois' 2025 slate isn't quite on the same level, it shapes up to be one of the easier schedules any team in the Big Ten will face.

While the nonconference slate has a road trip to Duke, in Big Ten play, the Illini will face only two teams who finished last season with winning records in the Big Ten: at Indiana and home against Ohio State. The rest of the schedule includes home games against USC, Rutgers, Maryland and Northwestern. The road trips are to Purdue, Washington and Wisconsin.

It's hard to blame Bielema for feeling confident as he prepares for his fifth season at Illinois. You would be, too.

Illibuck​

Illibuck is a trophy awarded to the winner of the college football rivalry between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Ohio State Buckeyes football teams.

AuTX Buckeye said:

Cavill left the Witcher because he had read all the books and hated the direction the story was going, veering too far from the books. He’s now involved in a Warhammer 10k movie or show I think. The dude is a nerd at heart, and must be protected at all cost.

Backed to Bond. Idris Elba would be my choice for maybe a 3 movie trilogy, just wish it would’ve happened years ago.

Also, my Rankings
1. Connery (he was first and you never forget your first)
2. Moore
3. Craig (dark, serious James Bond)
4. Brosnan (Goldeneye was amazing but everything after that was worse than anything Moore had to deal with….also that might be the best video game in history. Many classes skipped because of that in college)
5. Dalton (Never liked him, shoulda been a villain)
***Lazenby (one hit wonder unfortunately)
**** Nivens (doesn’t really count. Not really a bond movie)

My personal taste I might put Craig ahead of Moore based on the strength of the movies and character.

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Definitely would put Craig ahead of Moore.

5 National Titles. 46 Conference Championships. Most Academic All-Americans in NCAA History. Longest Sellout Streak in NCAA History. Welcome to the Good Life...

That was over a decade ago.....And all of those titles/championships have been before 2011, i.e. when Corn joined the B1G.

Per poster on Rivals:

Originally from Fort Wayne. Moved to Arizona after his sophomore season.

Hamiel's recruitment appears to be picking up steam. In the past week, he's received offers from Alabama, Texas and Ohio State. Two visits scheduled, Penn State and Arizona State.

Certainly looks the part of a D1 safety; big, fast and aggressive.

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Corked bat and roids. Fake ass fuck. Fuck him.

More Kansas issues:

Kansas coach Bill Self issues statement after fans send racist and threatening messages to star Zeke Mayo​

KU suffered its third loss at home Saturday, tying for the most in a season under Self​

Kansas guard Zeke Mayo was the subject of threatening and racist messages on social media after the team's 78-73 home loss Saturday to No. 10 Texas Tech, prompting coach Bill Self to issue a late night statement requesting any criticism about the team be directed instead at him.

Mayo posted a sample of the messages on social media in screenshots in which fans called him a racial slur, made veiled threats and incited self-harm, among other things. He posted a few of the messages and also issued an apology for not playing better.

Here's what Self said in a lengthy statement posted just after midnight ET:

The game today was a very good college basketball game. We played a very good team and we got beat. We had some individuals have exceptional individual games, and we had some maybe not play up to the standard they've set for themselves. But, everyone on our team, coaches included, myself, more than anyone, had opportunities to impact the game. A play here or there, that could have been the difference in the game over the course of 40 minutes. Texas Tech made more plays than we did.
We competed. We tried. We came up short and I'm proud of their efforts and I'm also proud of their preparation to be ready for the game. We haven't had the overall year that we had hoped for ourselves, nor the year that many other people have expected, but it hasn't been from a lack of caring. I can do a lot of things better. We all could do a lot of things better. But I'll roll with these guys every day and be proud of it. Any criticism about the team should be directed at me. I'm the head coach.
I'm looking forward to seeing how we bounce back against a terrific Houston team on Monday. Then, after that game, I'll look forward to see how we respond to a terrific Arizona team on Saturday. This is the most important time of the season, and this is the time where we need to be better, but we also need to be focused on basketball and not things being said outside of basketball that have absolutely zero merit.

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Mayo, KU's second-leading scorer on the season, scored just five points on 1 of 7 shooting in the loss to Texas Tech, the team's third home loss on the season. It was the third single-digit scoring effort in the last four outings for Mayo.
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continued

Want

RhodeIslandBuck said:

Isn't he the guy that scored on Jameis' infamous backwards throw/fumble?

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2015 Rose Bowl: Jameis Winston Fumbles on 4th Down and Ducks Score​

Jameis Winston Fumbles on 4th down and Tony Washington returns it for a touchdown in the Rose Bowl
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https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals250-release-roundtable-on-the-2026-rankings

Smith: Claude Mpouma. Mpouma is one of the hottest prospects in the country right now. His latest offers include Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame. He transferred to powerhouse Mount Carmel in Chicago which will get him even more exposure as part of a loaded team. Mpouma is raw as a prospects since he hasn’t been playing football long but has all the tools to be a big-time player in college as he continues to put it all together.

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Ryan Day’s Ohio State Receives $1.9B Internet Breaking News That Leaves Michigan & Texas in Dust​

Ryan Day and Ohio State endured a lot of dirt in 2024 and threw it back right in the faces of the critics as they walked out of the Mercedes-Benz stadium with a Natty in their hand. As fanatical as it sounds. The trophy came off as a momentary relief to Day after dragging a lot of hatred (even to the extreme of getting death threats) after his fourth straight Michigan loss. It is wise to call it momentary only, as it is narrowly followed up by a mass exodus of players and coaches of the program, leaving a lot of ifs and buts for the coming year. Finally, the Buckeyes again rose to the headlines and, for a good season.

There has been significant talk about the SEC and Big 10 dominating the financial scale of the CFB platform, especially after Power Two championed a new proposed idea for the CFP expansion. So, it’s not a surprise that Ohio State will emerge as a market-dominating force in terms of net worth. However, having been named officially the highest value program out of all the conferences, money power seems like an extra feather to the franchise’s cap. Ohio State currently flaunts a valuation of $1.9 billion to leave all other prominent competitors like Texas and Michigan behind in a compelling superiority race.

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Some breathing room for Ryan Day, who had enough hard luck losing both of his offensive and defensive coordinators, Chip Kelly and Jim Knowles, to the fellow powerhouses weeks back and had to go for a strong coaching reshuffling on the championship-winning team. Amidst all the frowns and doubts that surround the crucial post-championship year under Day, the sweet solace is they have money, at least.

What can money help with in 2025? Well, to start with, other programs can’t look at their top players, especially Jeremiah Smith- whose NIL deal is, to say the least, considerable. That doesn’t mean some sort of poaching hasn’t happened yet. This is the era of NIL, and while in the past, tampering used to happen behind the scenes. Now, it’s out in the open. As per Vance Bedford, former Texas DC, NIL is legalized cheating. “If you have more money, you can buy players right now.” How did it impact Jeremiah’s situation at the Buckeyes? Well, he got offered $4.5 million to transfer out of Ohio State. Did it happen? Hell no! Because the Bucs also have a couple of bucks.

But did big money anyway dim the shine of their first ever national championship in a decade? Well, the answer demands a deeper analysis.

Did the money win a Natty for Ohio State? ​

Ohio State vested $274.9 million on athletics in 2022–23, according to data in Sportico’s college finance database, by far the most among all public schools. Texas stood second in the chart, with a whopping $232.3 million, followed by Michigan at $225.6 million.

Now, coming to the most crucial question: how much does its financial soundness help the Buckeyes to win a Natty? People have been debating this million-dollar question over social media for over a few months. But on a realistic note, before the season kicked off, Athletic Director Bjork told Yahoo Sports that each player of the program was supposed to drag “around $20 million” via NIL deals from the Buckeyes’ donor-led collective and its affiliates. Now, it’s obvious that the money lure played a role in the Buckeyes’ high-flying roster building and helped grant them the best facilities and coaching, leading to a seamless execution of their goal.

After all, they hold the highest figure in the country. As we have seen throughout the season, the number provoked a mixed-bag reaction from all the sections of the community. Former Alabama coach Nick Saban made a hilarious joke on an ESPN broadcast in August; Washington coach Jedd Fisch addressed it with an air of jealousy during a press conference in October. So, it’s evident the money is rolling high at Columbus, no matter for the good or bad.

I would have to think if ND did join the B1G (hypothetical) they would come with another team, probably from the south. Miami? Ga Tech?

Buckeyeskickbuttocks said:

Pretty sure Kinch would have approved of butt crack pants. Here's to ya, Old friend. :cheers:

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He would have one upped them with a Lego man coming out his ass

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Did not know either. Makes even crazier the hate he got from Cleveburg fans for making a business decision. Par for the course for fans so deranged that they made death threats against Modell and burned Lebron's jersey. But the worst fans in America is a topic for another thread.

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Class: 2028
Position: RB
School: Auburndale(FL) Auburndale
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 185lbs

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Today I thought aboout you Deety. What a nice lady you were. I'll remember you forever.

That's 1 in a row. Get to 5 and we'll talk

Damn, sad to hear. He was the QB during my time at OSU. Too young.

brodybuck21 said:

Same

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I missed the game and accidentally saw the score, so no need to go watch this one. This one pretty much means another NIT appearance. The basketball program is definitely in a dark period and what a bummer. I usually had Bucks bball to look forward to in addition to football, but its been mostly bleak and I really don't see a light at the end of the tunnel unless we think being a borderline tourney qualifier at best and bottom of the B1G is acceptable (hint - it is not).

BB73 said:

And I could see somebody flipping 5/6 for the first 2 rounds this year. Tennessee was 21-10 at the half and Oregon was 34-0 before the final play of the half. But at some point in the second half I felt more comfortable with Tennessee as the opponent.

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Thank you BB.
I’ll give UT a little bit of flowers. You could tell Nico was overwhelmed from the jump and he was getting mauled, but he didn’t quit. Showed he had some toughness about him. Played through it no matter how bad it got.

I admire that in a kid.

I feel somehow guilty laughing at that.

System_id said:

Not gonna lie, I think next year might be a bit of a mess. None of the coaching hires save for the new OL coach really inspire confidence and we're losing a ton of talent. Wouldn't surprise me if we lost 3 or 4 games.

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I feel about the same, we put all the chips in on the table to win a Natty this year and hey, it worked. Truth is we were going to lose a lot of talent either before this season or get one more year for a title run, so I am happy we got the extra year from so many guys to make it happen.

We've got a lot of talent on paper but unproven talent, so things could go sideways. I think the offense is going to be good, but question is the defense in my mind after losing our DC and 8 of our 11 starters (especially losing our entire DL starters). Plenty of talent on defense, but question is does Patricia utilize it correctly...sure hope so, it has been amazing to watch a dominant defense again but there has to be some level of drop off expected.