Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

247Sports analyst explains why Illinois’ 4-1 start is not a ‘fluke’

Andrew Peters

By Andrew Peters

Published:

Illinois is off to a hot 4-1 start with big wins over teams like Virginia and Wisconsin.

The Fighting Illini are making a case for themselves, and one 247Sports analyst believes it isn’t a fluke.

“I think there’s a lot of excitement and there should be,” 247Sports’s Jeremy Werner said. “Because this team is not a fluke. This is a team that’s been dominant through five games.”

Illinois has won each of its games by a double-digit margin. The Fighting Illini were also solid in the loss to Indiana, but just had a few mistakes late that killed them.

Werner believes that a big win this week against Iowa could lead to a top-25 ranking for Illinois.

“Even in the Indiana loss they were dominating,” said Werner. “If they could follow up the Wisconsin win with a win over Illinois in almost 15 years, then you’re gonna start to see a team that’s potentially ranked.”

The game between Illinois and Iowa will be played at 7:30 p.m. ET tomorrow night. Illinois is a 3.5 point favorite and ESPN’s football power index gives the Illini a 60.1% chance to win.

After Iowa, Illinois will take on  Minnesota.

Andrew Peters