Season Record: 2-4
Head Coach: Lovie Smith (5-13, 2nd year at Illinois)
2017 S&P+ Overall Ranking: 107th
2016 S&P+ Overall Ranking: 95th
The Illinois Fighting Illini have seen better days. Head coach Lovie Smith’s crew squeaked out season-opening victories against Ball State and Western Kentucky before dropping four straight to South Florida, Nebraska, Iowa, and Rutgers. Yes, the same Rutgers program that hadn’t won a Big Ten game since Oct. 17, 2015. Yikes.
Even The Champaign Room, SB Nation’s home for the Fighting Illini faithful, has declared that all hope is lost, for this year at least.