I can’t wait for Saturday’s round

April 11 – CAMPAIGN – Several coaches have served two stints on the Illinois football staff in the past.

Mike Bellamy, Dan Roushar and Greg Colby come to mind. There are others.

The last player of two seasons is running backs coach Thad Ward, who joined Bret Bielema’s staff in 2023 following Cory Patterson’s departure to Purdue. Ward recently added the title of assistant coach. Ward previously served under Lovie Smith from 2016-2018.

He is enjoying his return engagement.

“It’s a lot different as far as culture goes,” Ward said after Tuesday’s morning practice. “Obviously, we’re in a heavy run. We want to run the ball here. I was pleased with my second try. Great kids. Great coach. It’s been awesome.”

Ward returned to Illinois after two seasons at Temple and one year at Kansas State.

Save the date

I don’t know about the rest of you, but April 20th is circled on my calendar.

This is the day media and fans can get an in-depth look at Bret Bielema’s fourth Illinois football team.

At this point, the team is a bit of a mystery. Of course, I know which players are back from the 2023 5-7 team. And I’ve met many of the newcomers for interviews.

The coaching staff underwent serious changes. Bielema has new assistants on both sides of the ball. They all seem like bright, friendly people. It will be informative to see them work in a game environment.

Decisions during the game

Fox will show games in primetime on Fridays starting this season, with matchups between the Big Ten, Big 12 and Mountain West.

The plan is to still put the best game of each week on the Big Noon Kickoff.

I quickly looked at the schedule and here’s my initial guess at the games that could be shown:

The best game of the weekend, LSU vs. Southern California, is already scheduled for Sunday. Then Big Noon takes Penn State-West Virginia, leaving the defending national champions for Friday night.

Texas-Michigan is a lock for Big Noon. The Iowa State-Iowa rivalry game is an option, but the guess here is that it remains Saturday. Bielema and the Illini will be looking for revenge after last year’s loss to Lance Leipold and the Jayhawks.

Big Noon will take Alabama over Wisconsin. This leaves the long-standing rivalry stronger because the Ducks left the Beavers behind when they fled to the Big Ten.

. Rosedale’s Floyd under the lights. Southern Cal in Michigan is almost a certainty for Big Noon.

New coach Jonathan Smith gets his first crack at the Buckeyes, who are ranked in the preseason Top 5 according to anyone with an idea. Big Noon: How about Illinois at Penn State? Will there be another nine OT thriller?

A rematch of last year’s national title game without the quarterbacks, who will be chosen in the first round of the NFL draft later this month.

. Remember when James Franklin was a rumored candidate to take over the Trojans? Just a hunch the excellent reporters covering the game will bring this up throughout the week.

Hear me out on this. It’s the 100th anniversary of the game Red Grange, when it became a national hero. Why bury this game in the middle of a busy Saturday when it could be shown on the anniversary itself? Without a reason. Imagine a Grange-like figure emerging from the smoke during pregame, giving the Wolverines quite a scare. Put 39-14 on the scoreboard.

It’s the first time the two have met in Columbus since COVID season. And that wasn’t fun for anyone. Nebraska’s numbers should be improved in Matt Rhule’s second season.

By now, the Hawkeyes’ new offense should be rolling. Or fans will long for the glory days of Brian Ferentz.

We’ll see the Ducks with new quarterback Dillon Gabriel as often as possible.

Former Pac-12 rivals reunite in the cold and snow of Seattle. Just like the good old days.