CHAMPAIGN — After a month of intense competition, the University of Illinois is ready to take on other schools, and after nine months of preparation, the University of Illinois will finally get that opportunity, playing its season opener against Eastern Illinois University on Thursday at 8 p.m.
“It's awesome that this moment has finally come,” Illinois running back Aidan Loughrey said. “We've been preparing for this moment all year. The unique thing about college football is you always have 12 chances to win, and this opportunity is right in front of us.”
Added Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer: “It's definitely an exciting time for everybody. It's tiring after three, four weeks of camp. Offensive linemen and defensive linemen get tired from going at each other every day, receivers and defensive linemen get tired from playing against each other every day. It's exciting to have a 12-week season and go up against opponents that you've been preparing for since January.”
Of course, Game 1 of any season brings both excitement and tension, and Illinois enters the season full of confidence and therefore motivation despite a disappointing 5-7 record last year.
But Illinois' coaching staff is asking players to focus on Thursday night. Most sportsbooks have Illinois as a 27.5-point favorite over Eastern Illinois, but the Panthers had their best season in a decade (8-3 overall) last season under head coach Chris Wilkerson in his second year at the helm and also received votes in the preseason FCS Top 25 polls. With a game against No. 22 Kansas looming next week, Illinois' coaching staff is telling players to focus on the present. The Panthers are looking to shock the college football world and beat the Big Ten Network's flagship state university.
“This is going to be the highlight game of the year on (EIU's) schedule. We're going to play the best of our opponents every week,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said. “… We always say, 'Respect all, fear no one.' My message as a head coach is the same whether we play Eastern Illinois or Kansas: We've got to learn how to play our opponents.”
Added Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Ranney Jr.: “You have to close your eyes to the outside world. That's it. It doesn't matter what week you play, if you're doing well or not. That's the mentality. … There's a lot of respect that goes into this game for what kind of team Eastern is and how they play. Our guys are up for the challenge. You have to close your eyes and say, 'Look, every guy we play deserves our respect.' If we were playing the Dallas Cowboys this week, I'd be sitting here and saying the same thing. Same approach. We have 12 chances. We know they'll be ready for us and we're doing our part to be ready for them.”
Illinois is 18-0 all-time against FCS opponents, with an average margin of victory of about 30 points. In its last game against an FCS opponent, Illinois defeated Chattanooga, then ranked 10th in the FCS, 31-0 on Sept. 22, 2022. Even Big Ten teams that haven't had the same consistent success as Illinois are bigger, stronger, faster and deeper than their FCS opponents.
Either way, Illinois is looking to start the season on a strong note.
“I think the challenge for us is just to focus on this week, hone our practice and how we practice this year in game preparation because games are going to be won or lost during that preparation week,” Loughrey said. “This team has really thought about it and looked at it and we're working towards it.”
