Illinois

Joel Klatt Names Illinois Team Most Likely to Make First CFP Appearance

Published

9 months ago

July 8, 2025

Joel Klatt Names Illinois Team Most Likely to Make First CFP Appearance

Even after Illinois football broke through with 10 wins and a Citrus Bowl victory in 2024, plenty of skeptics chalked up the results as a fluke – a season-long stroke of luck – while others have forecast more success ahead for an Illini program that returns 16 starters in 2025 and has been red-hot on the recruiting scene.

Count Joel Klatt among those in the latter camp.

In fact, Klatt, a top FOX Sports college football analyst, recently went so far as to declare the Illini as his No. 1 choice among programs most likely to make their first College Football Playoff appearance in 2025. Klatt clearly views Illinois as a team on the rise, but he also notes that the program is catching the sort of wave that doesn’t come around very often.

“Here’s what benefits them, is that they’re so experienced,” Klatt said, noting the Illini’s 16 returning starters. “So they can handle early games, big games. … Meanwhile, Luke Altmyer is in his third year as a starter and gets to play in September as an experienced player in those big games. That’s gigantic.”

Which 10 teams have a chance to make their first CFP in 2025? 🤔@joelklatt shares his list. pic.twitter.com/MT9WPMmkh0
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) July 7, 2025

The schedule is another huge boon for Illinois, according to Klatt, who points out that the Illini avoid Penn State, Oregon and Michigan, and will take on their most formidable opponent – Ohio State – in Champaign.

“Even if they don’t beat Ohio State, their next-biggest game is probably Washington on the road,” Klatt said. “Not saying that that’s easy, but you can take an experienced team and win that game potentially. And even if they don’t win that one, at 10-2 I think that Illinois probably goes [into the CFP].”

Bielema, Altmyer and the Illini still have to go out and get it done on the field, of course, but the ceiling has never been higher for the program. Given Illinois’ resources in 2025 and relative margin for error, the College Football Playoff should be the goal.

Not even Illini fans with the rosiest-colored glasses could have imagined as much just a few years ago.

“This year’s Indiana is Illinois, a team that their schedule is perfect, their roster is perfect,” Klatt said. “There is experience in the right places, and there is a guy at the helm – in this case, Brett Bielema – who knows exactly what he’s doing.”

“This year’s Indiana is Illinois.”
More from @joelklatt on his No. 1 team most likely to make their first College Football Playoff in 2025. pic.twitter.com/Ci9qBnH27a
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) July 7, 2025

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Illinois

Illinois native inside NASA’s Mission Control talks Artemis II splashdown

Published

12 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Illinois native inside NASA’s Mission Control talks Artemis II splashdown – NBC Chicago

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Illinois

Missing man’s body found in retention pond in Elk Grove Village, police say

Published

1 day ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Missing man’s body found in retention pond in Elk Grove Village, police say

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. (WLS) — The body of a missing man was found in a retention pond Thursday in the northwest suburbs, police said.

Chopper 7 was over the scene at a retention pond at Higgins and Innovation Drive in Elk Grove Village, in front of a number of warehouses in the area.

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There was a large police presence there for multiple hours, surrounding the water.

Chopper 7 witnessed dive teams go in and out of the water, and there were paramedics on scene.

Elk Grove Police confirmed a male body was found in the water in the 700 block of Innovation Drive. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene.

Police identified the body as a missing 26-year-old man named Alexis Ramirez.

Ramirez had been missing since March 10. Elk Grove Police were searching the same area after Ramirez went missing after he was the sole occupant of a single-vehicle crash near Higgins and Brennan Boulevard, which is right by the pond he was found in on Thursday.

Police believe he walked away from that scene before officers arrived. At that time, the police search led to no one being found.

ABC7 spoke to the family of Ramirez on the scene Thursday, and they appeared very emotional.

Police say there is no evidence of foul play at this time as they send out their condolences to the family.

No further information was immediately available.

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Illinois

Giant Illinois interstate sign collapses after truck strike, ‘major delays’ expected

Published

2 days ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

Giant Illinois interstate sign collapses after truck strike, ‘major delays’ expected

A busy stretch of I-64 in Illinois near St. Louis remains closed after a truck hit an overhead sign Wednesday night, with shocking photos showing beams of metal collapsed on the roadway.

The Illinois Department of Transportation posted about the closure, in St. Clair County, just before 8 a.m. Thursday.

“Heads up, Metro East travelers! Westbound I-64 approaching I-255 is currently closed due to a truck that hit a sign trust overnight,” IDOT said in a Facebook post. “Our crews are on it, working hard to get things cleared up and the road reopened ASAP. Expect major delays this morning, so if you can, try to steer clear of the area.”

According to the Illinois State Police, about 10:50 p.m., truck tractor semi trailer was in the construction zone on I-64 near Washington Park when it failed to lower its dump bed and struck the overhead road sign.

The structure holding the sign then failed and fell onto the roadway, ISP said. No injuries were reported.

Photos shared by IDOT showed the damage, with two giant green road signs over the interstate nearly touching the road, with the metal structure crushed and folded.

As of Thursday morning, all four westbound lanes remained closed due to the damage. Cleanup was expected to last for hours, with traffic diverted to IL 157, ISP said.

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