CHAMPAIGN — Hopefully you’ve landed on this page after going through our nearly 7,000 words of the top college football games of the 2021 season.
Closer to home, the Illini are currently set to play a 12-game slate again.
Nonconference games are back for Bret Bielema’s program and a chance to possibly add some wins before the gauntlet of Big Ten play arrives.
Let’s not call the list below the top games on the Illini schedule. Let’s call them the most intriguing.
1) Wisconsin at Illinois. Get ready for some flashbacks of Bielema coaching the Badgers. The Oct. 9 homecoming game in Champaign could likely draw the biggest crowd of the season, given its cushy fan-friendly window of either a 2:30 p.m. or 3 p.m. kickoff, depending what TV wants to do. And prep for plenty of footage of James McCourt’s game-winning kick to beat the Badgers in their last trip to Memorial Stadium.
2) Illinois at Virginia. The 10 a.m. kickoff on Sept. 11 is a bit strange. But it’s the first road trip for Bielema’s program, and the Cavaliers aren’t exactly a pushover. Start planning now on how to locate the ACC Network. Better yet, just listen on the radio for Brian Barnhart and Martin O’Donnell’s call of the marquee nonconference game on the Illinois schedule.
3) Nebraska at Illinois. Sure, this one will get the most buzz right now. It is the first game with Bielema on the sidelines, after all. Yet whoever wins this Aug. 28 game that kicks off at noon doesn’t automatically go to the Rose Bowl.
4) Penn State at Illinois. Bielema got his first chance to see his players up close last December in an empty Beaver Stadium. Chances are, he’ll hear from fans this time during the trip back East. Illinois only has one win in University Park, and a win on Oct. 23 would do wonders for the Illini.
5) Maryland at Illinois. The Friday night kickoff on Sept. 17 heightens the outside attention on this one. Plus, Ron Zook (now a Maryland assistant coach) and Mike Locksley (the Terps’ coach) return to Champaign.
6) Illinois at Iowa. The rivalry in football used to have the same type of animosity that it does now in basketball. Not anymore. Especially since Illinois hasn’t won at Kinnick Stadium in 21 years going into the Nov. 20 matchup.
7) Northwestern at Illinois. The six-game losing streak to the Wildcats has to stop sometime, right? Maybe it does Nov. 27.
8) Illinois at Minnesota. Gophers standout Mohamed Ibrahim might still be running for touchdowns ahead of the Nov. 6 game in Minneapolis.
9) Illinois at Purdue. A good way for Bielema to enter October in a good mood? Bring the Cannon back to C-U on Sept. 25.
10) Texas San Antonio at Illinois. Most folks will chock up the Sept. 4 night kickoff as an Illini win. Don’t tell the Roadrunners that before they play their first game in Champaign.
11) Rutgers at Illinois. Maybe this means a lot for new Illinois quarterback Artur Sitkowski. Maybe Illinois wins its fourth straight against the Scarlet Knights on Oct. 30. But the games haven’t exactly been football clinics recently.
12) Charlotte at Illinois. The 49ers will make their first-ever trip to Memorial Stadium on Oct. 2. Too bad it’s not Eastern Illinois product’s Jimmy Garoppolo’s 49ers.
Matt Daniels is the sports editor at The News-Gazette. He can be reached at 217-373-7422 or at mdaniels@news-gazette.com.
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