The Illinois Fighting Illini are college football’s version of a Rorschach test. Those who are optimistic see opportunity and a likely bowl game. The pessimists see danger lurking.

The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Such is predicting the outcome of the Fighting Illini season in the new-look Big Ten Conference for 2024. Nearly every expert prognosticator picks Illinois to finish between five and six wins, with betting sites laying out the ever-so-tempting 5.5 over/under line for Illini victories.

How will Illinois football do in 2024? Best-case scenario | Worst-case scenario

We took a spin around the Internet to find out what some of the top college football news sources had to say about the Illini in 2024:

The longtime college sports publication picked Illinois to finish 15th of 18 in the Big Ten Conference, which added four west coast teams in 2024 — Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington.

“Both sides of the ball need attention after 2023,” Athlon wrote of the Illini. “The defense gave up 12.8 points a game in 2022 but watched that total climb to 29.4 last fall.”

Athlon pointed out defensive losses, but also that a few key transfers should stabilize. The offense, meanwhile, gets three offensive line starters back and Athlon says quarterback Luke Altmyer is “expected to take a step forward” while running back Kaden Feagin is a “rising star.”

“More optimism surrounds the offense going into 2024,” wrote Athlon.

The CBS Sports betting writer also picked the Illini at 5-7, but set an optimistic tone. He also set the over/under at 5.5 wins, expecting victories against Eastern Illinois, Central Michigan, Purdue, Minnesota and Michigan State.

“I’ve seen some articles written with extremely low expectations for the Illini, and while I understand the concerns about a defense that lost some key pieces, they won with their offense last season,” Fornelli wrote. “They could have one of the best offensive lines in the league, which should help them continue to score points. The primary obstacle is the schedule.”

The New York Times college football writer picked the Illini to finish 5-7 overall and 3-6 in Big Ten, a pretty standard prediction for the Illini. They sit in that nebulous and muddy middle of the Big Ten. So much so that Mandel took space to write about 10 of the 18 teams in the Big Ten preview. Illinois didn’t get an entry.

Illinois football: 3 most important games in 2024 season

ESPN also didn’t have much to say about Illinois in its Big Ten preview, picking the Illini 13th of 18, pointing out that the program’s minus-8 turnover margin ranked 123rd nationally in 2023.

Earlier this month, the longtime columnist from the Illini hometown News-Gazette assessed the Illini in a story headlined: “What’s in store for Bielema in Year Four?” An excerpt:

“(Bret) Bielema is in his 16th year as a head coach. He has a system he believes in. But if it worked or not with the Illinois team at hand won’t be known until the completion of the season. Finish 8-4 and it is a ‘Yes.’ Go 6-6 and it’s a ‘Maybe.’ Finish under .500 and out of a bowl for the third time in four years and it’s a ‘No.’ “

The stats-driven football site says the numbers plant Illinois firmly in the middle, but on the high end. The Illini are 49th in the power ranks, 32nd in strength of schedule. PFF, however, projects Illinois with seven wins.

“After a very successful 2022 season in which the Fighting Illini finished 8-5, the team came crashing down with a 5-7 record in 2023. And that, unfortunately, now means that Illinois has finished with a losing record in 11 of the last 12 seasons. … If Bret Bielema’s squad is to bounce back, it’ll likely be due to its defense. … the Fighting Illini’s front seven projects to be the team’s strength.”

Illinois football predictions: Game-by-game picks based on ESPN matchup predictor

More optimism! The online college football site picks the Illini with six wins, which would make them bowl-eligible. The key to that? Get the defense working again.

“The 2022 Illinois defense was a brick wall to deal with,” CFN wrote. “It allowed fewer than 100 yards six times and won five of them. In all six games the Illini allowed fewer than 3 yards per carry, and allowed more in the other seven. Last season? The D allowed fewer than 100 yards just three times — and won all three games. More disruption, more attitude, more consistency — Illinois needs to be feared again.”

Illinois football 2024 schedule

This is the Illinois football 2024 schedule, with TV info; all times are CT.

PEORIA (25News Now) – The new CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Illinois wants to create all-female spaces, but she says more ladies are needed to make that possible.

Jennifer Sedbrook recently began her new role as CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Illinois.

Though she never was a Girl Scout, she’s always been a “champion” of girls.

The group serves around 1,000 girls in the Peoria area ages 5-17.

Sedbrook said the program is currently putting troops together to plan for a year full of activities.

“They’ll be doing a lot of outdoor camping, skill-building, field trips, and then you’ll see those cookies and us out in front of those grocery stores this spring,” she said.

Sedbrook added that they need more volunteer troop leaders such as college students, young professionals, retirees, and even former Girl Scouts to assist with special skills such as archery, clay-making, and even coding.

Troop leaders are not required to have scouting experience.

The Director of Program, Sara Tate was once a Girl Scout and encouraged those locally to get involved even if they don’t have a kid enrolled.

“One of the biggest things they can take away is that they can do it,” said Tate. “A lot of girls will come in nervous to try new experiences but once they do, they can’t stop. They realize soon enough they have the courage and confidence to do those things.”

Sedbrook said being a Girl Scout means feeling confident, and knowing you can do anything.

Enrollment is still open, and the scouts will have a Big Tap Campout event in Metamora on Sep. 28-29. To learn more about this event and membership, click here.

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There’s no doubt that Chicago is a pizza city. But the suburbs aren’t far behind.

According to a new ranking from Yelp, 16 of the “Top 100 Pizza Spots in the Midwest” were in Illinois. And though the state tied with Michigan for the most represented state on the list, only five of Illinois’ pizza places were in Chicago. The others spanned the suburbs, from Westmont, to Cicero, to Naperville.

In fact, the highest ranking Illinois pizza spot on the list has a location in Chicago but started in suburban Morton Grove: Pequod’s.

The list goes on to say that the legendary pies are often hailed as “prime examples of Chicago’ style pizza,” with a crust described by Pequod’s manager Jay Esper as “almost a mixture of deep-dish and Detroit-style.”

“It’s unique because of the soft, fluffy middle combined with the crunchy crust and caramelized cheese edge,” Esper said.

Chicago pizza joint Milly’s Pizza in the Pan, where “thick, fluffy Chicago pan-style pies sell out almost everyday,” landed at No. 5 on the ranking. But the top 10 was rounded out by another suburban spot: Westmont’s two-year-old Dough Daddy’s Pizza.

The full list of pizzerias that ranked from Illinois can be found below, with Chicago spots highlighted in bold:

3. Pequod’s Pizza — Chicago

5. Milly’s Pizza in the Pan — Chicago

9. Dough Daddy’s Pizza — Westmont

12. Zazas Pizzeria — Chicago

28. baked — Galesburg

30. Forno Rosso Pizzeria Napoletana — Chicago

32. Freddy’s Pizza — Cicero

33. Pomodoro E Mozzarella — St. Charles

40. Gianorio’s Pizza — Winfield

41. George’s Deep Dish — Chicago

54. DeSalvo’s Pizza — Evanston

58. Nature’s Best Cafe — Naperville

61. Sal’s Pizza Company — Algonquin

67. Pie Life Pizzeria — Glen Ellyn

70. Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria — Schaumburg

73. Elio Pizza on Fire – Addison

According to editors, the list was created after community managers evaluated businesses in Yelp’s “pizza” category with a large concentration of reviews. Spots were than ranked according to a number of factors, including total volume and ratings of reviews mentioning certain keywords and more. The full list from Yelp can be found here.