Illinois went 4-8 in 2018.

Is that good? Is that bad? It probably depends who you ask.

The Fighting Illini went 3-9 in Lovie Smith’s first year as coach and then fell to 2-10 in 2017. There didn’t seem to be much progress. However, in 2018, the Fighting Illini doubled their win total.

That is improvement.

We saw at times a bit of an offensive explosion coming from Illinois, and perhaps, this was enough for the school to want to keep Lovie Smith. On Sunday, it was announced that Smith received a 2-year extension on top of his initial 6-year deal:

Illinois AD Josh Whitman had this to say about extending Smith through the 2023 season:

“This extension demonstrates my belief in Lovie Smith, his staff, and the plan they have for the future success of Illinois Football,” said Whitman. “I have studied our program extensively, and I see steady progress, both in the development of our current players and the talent we are adding to our roster. To date, we have remained one of the youngest teams in college football, with only nine seniors and nearly 80 freshmen and sophomores. As our players grow in strength, skill, and experience, more wins will follow.

“We recognize that our work is far from finished, with improvement needed in every phase of our program’s development, but our plan is sound and our resolve is stronger than ever,” Whitman continued. “As I have said on many occasions, stability and continuity are key to building a foundation that will yield long-term success. With the opening of our new facility next summer, and the continued efforts of our staff and student-athletes, the success we all covet is within reach. I applaud Coach Smith, his staff, and our team for their commitment and steady progress, and I stand ready, as we all should, to help them in whatever way possible to continue building upon their momentum.”