Illinois
Four Downs and Bracket: Northern Illinois is beauty, Texas the beast and Shedeur Sanders should opt out

Davis Warren: ‘Standard hasn’t changed’ after Michigan loss to Texas
Michigan Wolverines quarterback Davis Warren said the reigning national championship team’s “standard hasn’t changed” after losing 31-12 to Texas.
First Down
This is the danger of overreaction, of penciling in favorites and roaming blissfully unaware through the minefield that is the college football regular season.
A week ago, Notre Dame had a clear path to the College Football Playoff. Now there’s wild uncertainty under the Golden Dome after a 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois.
A week ago, Irish quarterback Riley Leonard gutted out a big win at Texas A&M, fighting a defense full of elite athletes and going head-to-head with Mike Elko, his former coach at Duke. Fast forward to an unusually chilly September Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Indiana, with little ol’ Northern Illinois staring back from the other side of the ball.
Leonard threw two interceptions, averaged one lousy yard per carry and the Irish looked like a team in disarray — a week after strutting like a playoff team.
When will we ever learn?
This is the beauty of college football, and its perfectly imperfect fall Saturdays. Sometimes it’s not so much about bluechips and big NIL deals as it is want. Who wants it more?
A roster full of blue chip recruits with strapping, rising 30-something coach Marcus Freeman building what seems like a national power, or a bunch of MAC castoffs with tough love coach Thomas Hammock, who looks more like John Candy than John Heisman.
He was blubbering on the field at Notre Dame Stadium as the sun set over Touchdown Jesus, yet speaking so poignantly about players doing the right things, and listening and taking coaching. Football is more than NIL deals, he said.
You better believe it is. More times than not, it’s about who wants it more.
Like gutty and gritty Northern Illinois quarterback Ethan Hampton, who threw for 198 yards and had a few key runs ― including converting a key fourth-down run on the game-winning drive. Prior to this season, he had nine career passing touchdowns against eight interceptions.
Or running back Antario Brown, who was 13 when his mother was shot and killed outside their apartment in Savannah. After rushing for nearly 1,300 yards last season, he could’ve left NIU for a Power Four team and earned a sweet NIL deal.
But he stayed with the school who first recruited him, much like he did when leaving high school despite an offer from South Carolina.
HIGHS AND LOWS: Michigan mess and Texas triumph lead Week 2 winners and losers
Or Hammock, a star running back at NIU in the early 2000s who bounced around in college football and the NFL coaching running backs, before his alma mater asked him to come home in 2019. And then back him over and over despite some rough spots, including a three-win season in 2022.
So yeah, he was weeping in the biggest moment of his coaching career. So were his players as they dove into the stands to celebrate with the few hundreds who made the 150-mile drive east to witness history.
This is college football. Not daily pontificating or weekly overreactions or looking down a three-month road and declaring no one is beating Notre Dame. Until Northern Illinois does.
And picks up a cool guarantee game check worth $1.4 million in the process, thank you.
Second Down
Of all the critically bad decisions to chance for college football administrators, there are defining moves that somehow continue to be made through emotion.
Hiring a head coach shouldn’t be a heart over head proposition, but here we are, and the strange scenario continues to play out when it shouldn’t. From beloved assistant coach to head coach — to overwhelmed by the moment.
All because emotion clouded judgment in the hiring process, and the ”players’ coach” or “the importance of transition” or “you know what you’re getting” meant more than finding the right coach.
Speaking of a clouded process, it may be time to give Michigan coach Sherrone Moore an early invite to the waiting room of bad decisions.
Because after Michigan’s 19-point home loss to Texas (it wasn’t that close), Moore looks a lot like Bobby Williams at Michigan State. Or Randy Shannon and Manny Diaz at Miami, Ron Prince at Kansas State and Matt Luke at Ole Miss.
And that’s just a handful of assistant coaches who got their first power conference head coaching job when elevated at their respective schools — and were then engulfed by it all. They were “players’ coaches” who were hired in the heat of the moment and amid the fanfare of player support, after the previous coach either took another job, retired or was fired.
Williams followed Nick Saban (left for LSU), Shannon followed national championship coach Larry Coker (fired), Diaz followed Mark Richt (retired), Prince followed Bill Snyder (retired) and Luke followed Hugh Freeze (fired).
Only Diaz, now coaching Duke, got a second chance as a Power Five conference head coach.
Now here we are with Moore, who won four games as an interim coach last year during Michigan’s national championship season while former coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended. But that was with a loaded team, built over the years by Harbaugh and built specifically to peak during the 2023 season.
Moore took over, and had to find a quarterback (he didn’t land one from the transfer portal despite the deep group of candidates), and replace the entire offensive line and wide receiving corps.
After an uninspiring season opening win over Fresno State, the Wolverines looked outcoached and outclassed against Texas. Michigan had 284 yards — 78 on the last drive of the game against Texas backups — converted only 3-of-12 third downs and had three turnovers.
Moore looked shellshocked from the first drive of the game, when a questionable holding call negated a Texas touchdown. The Longhorns then missed a short field goal.
Then it got worse for Moore and Michigan, which had four win streaks snapped with the loss: 16 consecutive wins overall, 23 consecutive home wins, 28 consecutive wins in August and September, and 23 consecutive non-conference home wins.
The Wolverines were an operational mess on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Davis Warren was shaky in his second start, and the play calling was uninspiring.
The run game — the anchor of Harbaugh’s Michigan teams — rushed for 80 yards on 23 carries, and has produced 228 yards in two games. The defense wasn’t much better, giving up nearly 400 yards before the Longhorns shut it down in the fourth quarter to salt away the win.
“I liked our poise and I liked our composure,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said after the game.
A team, and a coach, that wasn’t distracted in a critical moment.
Third Down
Here we go again. Another one-possession game, another loss for Arkansas.
And another excuse to turn up the heat on embattled Hogs coach Sam Pittman.
Just in case you’ve forgotten what the last two years of Arkansas football looked like, turn on the DVR and watch Arkansas give away a big road win Saturday at No.16 Oklahoma State. The Hogs led by 14 at halftime and eight in the fourth quarter, yet couldn’t get out of Boone Pickens Stadium with an important non-conference win.
This one ended in the second overtime with Arkansas failing to convert on fourth-and-1 from the OSU 6. It also ended as the 15th one-possession loss under Pittman since 2000. Fifteen.
More: Biggest nonconference games of 2024 College Football Playoff race
They’ve ended in every conceivable way: from Saturday’s loss of a yard when the Hogs needed only one, to holding Mississippi State to 205 total yards and losing 7-3 when Pittman admitted he “didn’t know what to do” when faced with the decision of kicking a long field goal or punt.
Then there was the missed game-winning field goal against Texas A&M when the kick hit the top of the upright. Yes, the top. In a stretch last season that included three losses by one possession against Brigham Young, LSU and Ole Miss, Arkansas had a combined 35 penalties.
The latest unsettling loss to Oklahoma State, a game the Hogs had control of deep into the second half, shines more concern on the one-possession losses. it also underscores losses for Arkansas in nine of its last 10 games against power conference teams — the only win in overtime at Florida.
“I’ve had success,” Pittman told me in July. “I’m not concerned about ‘Oh, he’s a failure.’ Hell no, I’m not a failure. And I’m not going to do something different because I’m worried about a job.”
Fourth Down
it’s time for Shedeur Sanders to hear some harsh truth. And it has to come from his coach, and father, Deion Sanders.
It’s time to opt out. Of the season.
I’m half joking, but imagine being Colorado star quarterback Shedeur Sanders, an elite NFL draft prospect and possibly a Top five overall pick, knowing the beatdown is coming, week after week, while playing behind a horrific offensive line.
Why stand tall and absorb those hits and take that physical pounding for what looks like a three- or four-win team? What exactly is the sense of this exercise?
The Colorado offensive line gave up 56 sacks last season ― that’s right, 56 ― and after two games against North Dakota State and Nebraska, this year’s group looks worse. Why in the world would Deion (the coach or the dad) throw his son behind this mess of an offensive line, knowing it could lead to the only thing that could prevent his son from being one of the first players selected in the draft?
OK, so opting out of the season is too harsh. Let’s start with opting out of games when you’re down four touchdowns.
The Bracket
First round byes:
(1) Georgia, (2) Ohio State, (3) Miami, (4) Oklahoma State
First round games:
(12) Liberty at (5) Texas
(11) Penn State at (6) Alabama
(10) Missouri at (7) Oregon
(9) Southern California at (8) Ole Miss

Illinois
Illinois High School Football Top 25 State Rankings – Sept. 23, 2025

East St. Louis and Brother Rice have moved up, this week, into the top four of the Illinois High School Football Top 25 State Rankings. Lincoln-Way West is the lone newcomer, entering the rankings at No. 25.
Previous ranking: 1
Last week: Def. St. Ignatius 41-14
Up next: at Benet, Sept. 26
Quentin Burrell caught two touchdown passes from Emmett Dowling, who had four total TDs. Tavares Harrington ran a fumble back 99 yards for a score.
Previous ranking: 2
Last week: Def. Lockport 49-14
Up next: at Naperville Central, Sept. 26
USC-bound Jonas Williams continued to move closer to the IHSA career records for passing yards and passing TDs, going 30-of-35 for 354 yards and five touchdowns.
Previous ranking: 4
Last week: Def. Alton 60-6
Up next: vs. Belleville West, Sept. 26
Myson Johnson-Cook ran for 88 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Flyers.
Previous ranking: 5
Last week: Def. Loyola 28-6
Up next: vs. St. Patrick, Sept. 26
Army commit CJ Gray had TD runs of 5 and 71 yards, and also threw a 47-yard touchdown pass.
Previous ranking: 3
Last week: Lost to Brother Rice 28-6
Up next: vs. DePaul Prep, Sept. 26
Sophomore quarterback Matthew Lee passed for 149 yards for the Ramblers. whose 13-game winning streak was snapped.
Previous ranking: 6
Last week: Def. New Trier 35-16
Up next: at Conant, Sept. 26
Jayden Faulkner ran for 134 yards and Northwestern commit Johnny O’Brien threw for 197 yards and three TDs.
Previous ranking: 8
Last week: Def. Downers Grove North 35-21
Up next: vs. Lyons, Sept. 27
The Hilltoppers led 28-0 after one quarter and coasted to the win. Quarterback AJ Rayford returned from an injury to pass for 167 yards and a TD.
Previous ranking: 9
Last week: Def. Barrington 41-21
Up next: vs. Evanston, Sept. 26
Indiana-bound Jameson Purcell threw for 238 yards and three TDs, and also ran for 65 yards.
Previous ranking: 7
Last week: Def. IC Catholic 24-21
Up next: at Joliet Catholic, Sept. 26
Billy Harding kicked a game-winning 39-yard field goal with seven seconds left and Trenton Walker had six catches for 140 yards.
Previous ranking: 12
Last week: Def. Lake Park 41-21
Up next: at St. Charles North, Sept. 26
Henry Hahn ran for 120 yards and three touchdowns, while the Bulldogs’ defense had seven tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception.
Previous ranking: 10
Last week: Lost to Glenbard West 35-21
Up next: vs. Proviso West, Sept. 26
Still playing without Minnesota-bound quarterback Owen Lansu, the Trojans had a 71-yard TD pass from Kevin Jay to Illinois commit Will Vala.
Previous ranking: 11
Last week: Def. Burlington Central 28-7
Up next: vs. McHenry, Sept. 26
Fullback Jake Wagler ran 25 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns as the Wolves won the battle of unbeatens.
Previous ranking: 13
Lost week: Def. Waukegan 51-0
Up next: at Zion-Benton, Sept. 26.
Illinois-bound Aaron Stewart rushed for 204 yards and five touchdowns, boosting his season totals to 990 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Previous ranking: 14
Last week: Def. St. Rita 17-10
Up next: at Providence, Sept. 26
The Spartans opened a 17-0 third-quarter lead and held on for the road win.
Previous ranking: 15
Last week: Lost to Maine South 41-21
Up next: vs. Palatine, Sept. 27
Luke Tepas threw for 295 yards, including a 61-yarder to Vince Cook, to lead the Broncos.
Previous ranking: 16
Last week: Def. Palatine 28-7
Up next: at Glenbrook North, Sept. 26
Andrew Bonvechio threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Titans.
Previous ranking: 17
Last week: Def. Leyden 56-0
Up next: vs. Oak Park-River Forest, Sept. 26
Dom Alfano was a perfect 9-of-9 passing for 186 yards and three touchdowns .
Preseason ranking: 20
Last week: Def. Fenwick 31-29
Up next: at Marmion, Sept. 26
Israel Abrams was 15-of-19 passing for 163 yards and two touchdowns as the Broncos held on for the win.
Previous ranking: 19
Last week: Lost to Montini 31-29
Up next: at De La Salle, Sept. 26
Jamen Williams threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns for the Friars.
Previous ranking: 22
Last week: Def. Plainfield South 33-7
Up next: vs. Yorkville, Sept. 26
Mariano Velasco had a pick-six and a receiving touchdown for the Panthers.
Previous ranking: 23
Last week: Def. Wheaton North 34-12
Up next: vs. Batavia, Sept. 26
JT Padron threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns for the North Stars.
Previous ranking: 25
Last week: Def. Lyons 29-26
Up next: at Downers Grove South, Sept. 26
Two-way standout Riley Contreras passed for 209 yards and two TDs, and also ran for 43 yards and a touchdown for the Red Devils.
Previous ranking: 24
Last week: Lost to Hinsdale Central 29-26
Up next: at Glenbard West, Sept. 26
EJ Kuhlman ran for 156 yards and two TDs for the Lions, while Jack Slightom threw for 254 yards and a score.
Previous ranking: 21
Last week: Lost to St. Francis 17-10
Up next: at Notre Dame, Sept. 26
Quarterback Stephen Armbruster returned and passed for 93 yards, while Jack Schapendonk had 10 tackles, including three for loss, for the Mustangs.
Previous ranking: Not ranked
Last week: Def. Lincoln-Way Central 17-12
Up next: at Waubonsie Valley, Sept. 26
Zach Hermanson kicked a program-record 52-yard field goal for the Warriors.
Illinois
Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, a popular two-term Republican, dies at 79

CHICAGO — Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, a popular two-term Republican credited with guiding the state into a period of greater financial stability in the 1990s, died Sunday, according to his family. He was 79.
Edgar died from complications related to his treatment for pancreatic cancer, his family said in a statement. He publicly disclosed his cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
“We are deeply grateful for the love, support and kindness so many have shown to Jim and our family over these last several months,” the statement said.
A former state legislator who was Illinois secretary of state for a decade, Edgar was elected governor in 1990. The moderate Republican easily won reelection, including winning heavily Democratic Cook County, where Chicago is located.
He remained a party statesman and adviser, and grew uneasy with the Republican Party’s shift to the right. Edgar was among high-profile Republicans who did not support Donald Trump’s presidency, joining a campaign to support Kamala Harris ′ bid for president last year called “Republicans for Harris.”
Born in small-town Oklahoma, Edgar was much more reserved than his flashy, charming predecessor, James R. Thompson, who was the longest-serving governor in state history. At the time Edgar took office, the state was hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and paying its bills months late.
Amid a recession, Edgar pushed legislators to cut the state budget, making layoffs and cuts in popular programs. He also managed to fulfill his campaign promise of getting a temporary income tax surcharge made permanent, guaranteeing a stable source of money for public schools.
“It wasn’t always pretty how it was done, but we got a lot done,” Edgar told The Associated Press in 1998. “We went after some pretty tough issues. We didn’t get them all, but we got most of them.”
He surprised many political observers when he announced in 1997 that he would not seek a third term, considering his popularity. Republicans tried to draft him to run for office again, including bids for the U.S. Senate and again for Illinois governor. But he did not accept.
Edgar went on to teach and served as president emeritus of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, among other things.
“By any standard, he was a Republican whose integrity guided his time in office and who managed one of the most successful periods in Illinois state government,” Bob Kustra, who served as Edgar’s lieutenant governor, said in a statement.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Sunday that flags in the state would fly at half-staff in Edgar’s honor.
“Now more than ever, we should channel that spirit and resolve to live as Governor Edgar did: with honesty integrity, and an enduring respect for all,” Pritzker, a Democrat, said in a statement. “He will live on in the incalculable number of lives he touched and in the stronger institutions he helped build.”
Edgar is survived by his wife and two children.
His relatives said details on funeral plans would follow in the coming days.
Illinois
Landmarks Illinois awards $43,000 to preserve 10 historic sites statewide
Landmarks Illinois awarded $43,000 in grants to preserve 10 historic sites across the state, including South Shore Cultural Center and Bowen High School in Chicago, the nonprofit preservation group announced Thursday.
The new round of grants from Landmarks Illinois will fund nonprofits, churches and community groups working to restore culturally and historically significant sites in Chicago, Galesburg, Greenup, Kampsville, Naperville and Peoria.
“When we invest in our built environment, in places that matter to people and speak to our shared histories, it has wide-ranging positive impacts on the entire community,” Bonnie McDonald, CEO of Landmarks Illinois, said.
Two new grant recipients are in Austin, a West Side community that has historically experienced disinvestment. “By restoring these places, we create jobs and attract additional investment in the neighborhood,” McDonald said.
Yet Landmarks Illinois has been stifled by funding requirements under President Donald Trump’s administration. The nonprofit had planned to apply for $750,000 from a National Park Service grant program. But it found new government restrictions “require regressive and incomplete versions of American history and dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives,” Landmarks Illinois said in a Tuesday statement.
“As a result of the administration’s ongoing repressive and authoritarian-like actions, we were forced to pass up this significant opportunity to provide vital resources to communities across the state,” the nonprofit added.
Oct. 1 is the next deadline for Landmark Illinois grant applications. Criteria and eligibility varies for three types of grants that range from $500 to $10,000.
Chicago grantees include:
New Precious Grove Missionary Baptist Church in south Austin received $5,000 for roof repairs. The architecturally unique building features a terra cotta facade. It was built in 1912 and was originally home to the Ideal Theatre. The church is run by more than 50 volunteers who lead spiritual services, educational programs and social services.
A House in Austin, a family services nonprofit, received $6,000 to repair the chimney on the historic Victorian home where it’s based. The group has a 75-year history of serving the community, said Landmarks Illinois. It has raised other funds to maintain the house and preserve unique features, such as stained glass windows and fireplaces.
Bowen High School Alumni Association in South Chicago received $2,800 to fund a National Register of Historic Places nomination for Bowen High School. The Chicago Public School was constructed in 1910 and features Chicago School and Prairie architecture styles. It is named for James Bowen, a 19th-century entrepreneur who dredged the Calumet River. The school was an “educational gateway” for the children of immigrants, said Landmarks Illinois.
The South Shore Cultural Center Park Advisory Council will use $2,500 to launch a public awareness project for the overall restoration of the center’s outdoor stage. The stage opened in 1920 but has long been unused and in disrepair due to a lack of funding for maintenance.
Coppin AME Church in Washington Park received $4,700 for roof and masonry repairs to its sanctuary and community center. The church has been a “pillar in the neighborhood” since it opened in 1928, Landmarks Illinois said. The sanctuary’s front door also needs repair after damage during an attempted break-in.
Other grants awarded include:
- The Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg will use its $5,000 grant to replace three exterior doors at the 109-year-old performing arts venue in the city’s National Register-listed Historic District.
- Kampsville in Calhoun County received $5,000 for a feasibility study on the adaptive reuse of a 1907 historic home at the Perrin’s Ledge historic site to create a visitor center. The site marks where Father Marquette and Louis Joliet visited Calhoun County in July 1673 and met local Native Americans.
- Citizens to Preserve Jubilee College in Peoria received $5,000 to restore original windows at Jubilee College, an Illinois State Historic Site, which first opened in 1839 as one of the earliest institutions of higher learning in Illinois.
- Harmony Church in Greenup will use $5,000 to repair floors in its building, built in 1876 by Methodist and Quaker volunteers. An adjacent cemetery is home to many veterans dating back to the Civil War. It also features an original Native American burial mound.
- Naperville Preservation will use $2,000 to conduct an architectural survey of homes built by Don Tosi, a prominent mid-century designer and builder active in Naperville from the 1950s through the 1980s. Tosi has designed and built about 80 homes in the suburb.
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