Well, Illinois is past the halfway point of its season — and it’s been a crazy 7 weeks. That means it’s time to re-assess the 2-5 Illini.

The Illini beat Nebraska in Week 0 and it looked like the rebuild might go better than fans thought. But after that, they came back down to Earth.

A one-possession loss to a solid UTSA team in Week 1. A blowout loss to Virginia in Week 2. Back-to-back one-possession losses — with some questionable play-calling — to Maryland and Purdue. Thankfully, Illinois came back from a 14-10 halftime deficit against Charlotte to get its second win of the season in Week 6. But getting shut out against Wisconsin at home was a few steps back.

Now, the Illini are getting set for the last 5 games of their season. Is it going better than we thought it would before the season? Back in August, I listed my 5 concerns for the Illini.

Let’s see how they held up:

1. How will Bielema adjust back to CFB?

The short answer? Very well.

I wasn’t sure how Bret Bielema would do going back to college after 4 years in the NFL. So far, it looks like he’s doing just fine. He made some questionable decisions when he opted to punt inside the opponent’s 35-yard line against Maryland and Purdue.

But where Bielema is really excelling is on the recruiting trail. He’s not getting the sexiest names — Illinois’ 2022 recruiting class ranks 9th in the B1G — but he’s doing what he said he would. He’s recruiting in-state. And while they might not all be 4- or 5-star recruits, the players he’s getting are pretty highly regarded in Illinois.

It’s also not too often you get those big recruits in the first year of a regime. That takes time.

2. How will Isaiah Williams and Marquez Beason handle the transition to WR?

Well, this one aged well.

Isaiah Williams is looking like a building block at wide receiver. He’s electric in Bielema’s offense, averaging 42.6 yards per game on 32 total catches — which ranks 22nd in the B1G. It almost looks like he’s been playing the position his whole life. Fun fact: This guy was a quarterback before this year.

Beason hasn’t played this year. But Williams’ emergence has to be one of the biggest talking points of Year 1 of the Bielema Era.

3. Can Brandon Peters get back on track?

Not exactly.

Peters has looked shaky all year — and it didn’t help that he injured his shoulder in Week 0. In 5 games, Peters has completed 40 of 82 passes for 410 yards and a touchdown. Comparatively speaking, Rutgers transfer Art Sitkowski is 66-for-129 for 666 yards and 6 touchdowns in 4 games.

Against Wisconsin, Peters left for “medical reasons,” Bielema said after the game, which meant Sitkowski came off the bench. It’s disappointing to see Peters not performing well, especially since he’s a 6th-year senior and was looking healthy before the year began.

If Illinois wants to reach the 5-win mark, Bielema should probably go with Sitkowski under center. But that’s a column for another time. The point here is, even a scheme change didn’t get Peters back on track — and that’s a big reason why Illinois is struggling.

4. Can the defense crack down?

I’m glad I didn’t say, “the defense will crack down.” That would’ve gotten me on @OldTakesExposed.

The Illini defense is the 2nd-worst in the B1G only to Northwestern. They’ve allowed 429.1 yards per game and, while that’s better than the 466.8 yards allowed last year, it’s still not what it needs to be to survive in the B1G.

Plus, they allowed 24 points to Wisconsin. That says enough.

Maybe it’s a personnel thing. Maybe it’s a scheme thing. It’s hard to say right now, but it’s easily the biggest area Bielema needs to address next year and beyond.

5. Will it work?

It’s too early to tell.

Bielema is looking to be a good hire. He brings the B1G experience you need for a program stuck in the mud, and he has the recruiting chops to turn things around. He’s done a lot of good this year, too. Transitioning Williams to wide receiver and landing Sitkowski have been huge. But the one-possession losses still put a bad taste in Illini fans’ mouths.

Once Bielema works through Lovie Smith’s recruits and gets his own guys to Champaign, we’ll really see how things have changed. For now, patience is key.

Buckle up for the home stretch.