Illinois Football: My Way-Too-Early Expectations for 2017

Last season, the Illinois football team went 3-9 in the regular season.

That record may have brought a sour taste to your mouth, but that is how the season went.

But, with a very solid recruiting class coming in, what are realistic expectations for the 2017 season?

Although Illinois has a good class of 2017 coming in, they also lost many good seniors.

Dawuane Smoot and Carroll Phillips will be drafted, and Wes Lunt will be graduating. Those are three key players that freshmen may not be able to make up for.

Fans also should take into account that many of these freshmen will redshirt, which is actually good for the future of the Illini.

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Overall, this team will be worse, roster wise, but their schedule is definitely favorable. With this roster, it is possible to win at least five games.

Ball State should be a win to open the season, and Western Kentucky could be a win. South Florida on the road will be tough, but that game is up for grabs.

In the Big Ten season, Illinois plays Nebraska, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Northwestern at home, and three of those four games are completely winnable.

Illinois will play Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue, and Ohio State on the road, and I think Illinois can win one of those games.

As a whole, I see a lot of winnable games on this schedule, but this will be a young class.

So here is what my way-too-early predictions look like.

Ball State (H): W

Western Kentucky (H): W

South Florida (A): L

Nebraska (H): L

Iowa (A): L

Rutgers (H): W

Minnesota (A): L

Wisconsin (H): L

Purdue (A): W

Indiana (H): W

Ohio State (A): LOL

Northwestern (H): L

Optimistic Outlook: 6-6

Pessimistic Outlook: 2-10

My Outlook: 5-7 or 4-8