Predicting 2021 Big Ten season: How many wins for Penn State Football?

The Illini went 2-6 in 2020, and also moved on from Lovie Smith as their head coach. New Illini head coach Bret Bielema will have an uphill battle, though, as they have to face some tough competition in the Big Ten West. Even some of their more winnable games within the division, such as Purdue, are on the road.

Illinois also has a tough non-conference road game against a solid Virginia Cavaliers team. Additionally, the Illini drew a road game against Penn State in a Big Ten divisional crossover matchup.

Coach Bielema does however benefit from having 82% of last season’s production back. This Illinois team can certainly do better than 2-10, realistically they could push 4 or 5 wins if everything goes as planned in Champagne. They will probably have a lot of close games against their lesser opponents that could go either way.

So, 2-10 may be a little less than generous for a record prediction. Look for Illinois to prove me wrong this season.