Illinois Fighting Illini Articles
The SEC is home to some of college football’s top talent at running back in 2017. Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and LSU each make an appearance in the top 30 running back tandems for the upcoming season. The Crimson Tide own the deepest depth...
Steven Lassan
16 hours ago
Ranking all 130 college football teams is no easy task, but with the first Saturday of action on Aug. 26 less than two weeks away, it’s time to see how every FBS program stacks up for 2017. At the top, Alabama leads the way as Athlon...
Steven Lassan
1 day ago
Making preseason predictions or assembling rankings for all 130 college football teams is never easy. After all, it’s impossible to be 100 percent accurate at the end of any season. The emergence of breakout players, injuries, bad luck...
Steven Lassan
1 day ago
College football’s 2017 season starts on Aug. 26 and concludes with the national championship on Jan. 8 in Atlanta. The season is less than 15 days away and fall practice is ongoing for all 130 teams around the nation, which means depth...
Steven Lassan
2 days ago
Looking back at the preseason polls once a season has ended is like looking at an old yearbook before your high school reunion. I really thought that hair style looked good? And what’s with that shirt? What was I thinking?
I really...
Athlon Sports
2 days ago
The polls are coming out. The odds are set. The pundits and prognosticators have all had their say. There really isn't much more to do before the 2017 college football season kicks off, right?
Who am I kidding?
For better or...
J.P. Scott
2 days ago
Finding and evaluating cornerbacks and safeties is one of the most difficult jobs for any college football coaching staff. Competition level and a variety of offenses in high school create a several obstacles in player evaluation....
Steven Lassan
6 days ago
Picking the top linebacker units in college football is no easy task. After all, schemes dictate how linebackers are used and the rise of spread offenses generally means more defensive backs on the field. Regardless of whether a scheme...
Steven Lassan
1 week ago
The rise of spread offenses and the different schemes teams face on a week-to-week basis in a college football season has altered how some defensive coordinators think. While some are placing more emphasis on building a secondary,...
Steven Lassan
1 week ago
The offensive line is often the most overlooked position for any college football team. While the linemen in the trenches don’t get enough credit, they are often the most important piece to a successful offense. Flashy skill talent...
Steven Lassan
1 week ago
The 2017 season features a significant amount of turnover at wide receiver, opening the door for new stars and breakout players to emerge this fall. However, despite some big names moving onto the NFL, there is a clear No. 1 receiver group...
Steven Lassan
1 week ago
While every college football team would prefer to have an established, superstar No. 1 running back, using a committee of options is the preferred approach to save wear and tear on the starter. Some teams prefer to split the carry...
Steven Lassan
1 week ago
Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett and Penn State’s Trace McSorley lead the way in the Big Ten quarterback rankings for 2017. Barrett should benefit from the arrival of play-caller Kevin Wilson, while McSorley will continue to develop under the...
Steven Lassan
2 weeks ago
It's not easy getting college football coaches to honestly comment on another coach, player or team. Most coaches don't want to give opposing teams billboard material, which is why there is a lot of coach speak or overused cliches...
Athlon Sports
2 weeks ago
College football’s coordinator carousel featured a handful of big names on the move for the 2017 season. Ohio State hired former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson to coordinate the offense, while Todd Orlando followed Tom Herman from Houston to...
Steven Lassan
3 weeks ago
Every fan has experienced it. Your team has the ball in scoring position. It’s a big moment. And before you can say, “Run the dang ball!” your quarterback is cocking back to lob the football toward the back corner of the end zone...
Athlon Sports
3 weeks ago
The Big Ten returns six 1,000-yard rushers from 2016, including a Heisman Trophy candidate in Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, along with Northwestern’s Justin Jackson and Ohio State’s Mike Weber. Jackson has recorded three...
Steven Lassan
3 weeks ago
Congratulations, WakeyLeaks. Wake Forest’s game-plan breach from a highly unlikely source — radio analyst and former assistant coach Tommy Elrod — managed to make already-paranoid college football coaches even more paranoid....
Athlon Sports
3 weeks ago
It’s no secret quarterback play is an integral part of every college football team and its hopes of winning a national title, contending for a conference championship or simply making a bowl. And if you need any evidence, take a look at last...
Steven Lassan
4 weeks ago
Unfortunately for college football fans, teams from the Big Ten and SEC rarely face each other more than once in the regular season. Why should we have to wait until late December and early January to see these two conferences clash in bowl games...
John La Fleur
4 weeks ago
It was a good regular season in 2016 for the Big Ten, but the conference came up short in its three biggest bowl games. Ohio State proved to be no match for Clemson in the College Football Playoff while Penn State (Rose Bowl) and Michigan (Orange...
Matt Josephs
1 month ago
In 2012, the SEC’s perceived dominance over the rest of college football was an unquestioned fact of life in the sport. Five years later, the conference with the most money, most fertile recruiting base and most passionate following looks...
Athlon Sports
1 month ago
Ohio State is still Ohio State. Even after a 31-point decimation at the hands of eventual national champion Clemson, the Buckeyes are still the class of the Big Ten. But maybe they’re no longer alone: After all, Penn State beat OSU and...
Athlon Sports
1 month ago
Ed Oliver could’ve gone to almost any college in America, at least any college with a football program.
That’s the luxury afforded to 6'2", 277-pound blue-chip defensive tackles who are blessed with enough speed to...
Athlon Sports
1 month ago
The Big Ten’s offseason coordinator carousel was in full effect for 2017, as nine of the 14 teams experienced some change in the offensive or defensive coordinator position. The offseason’s biggest and most impactful change took place...
Steven Lassan
1 month ago