Latest news with #IlliniNight
Chicago Tribune
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
How Illinois coach Bret Bielema responded to an SEC quarterback's shots at the Big Ten
College football has seen sweeping changes the last few years. One of them, Illinois coach Bret Bielema believes, is an end to the notion of the Southeastern Conference's supremacy. Appearing at Wrigley Field on Tuesday for Illini Night, Bielema responded to shots that Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia took at the Big Ten on a podcast earlier that day. Pavia, who transferred from New Mexico State last year and led the Commodores to their first winning season in 11 years and an upset of Alabama, joined former NFL players Will Compton and Taylor Lewan on their 'Bussin' With the Boys' podcast. Most of the conversation was about Pavia's journey, but he took a jab at the Big Ten, including specific schools, when asked about potential transfers this offseason. 'You want to play with the best, you don't want to play in the Big Ten,' Pavia told Big Ten alumni Compton (Nebraska) and Lewan (Michigan). 'You ignore those calls. You've got to think about this too: The SEC is like nothing (else). The Big Ten, you have Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, Penn State. The SEC, you've got all dogs. 'You only have four (tough) games a year (in the Big Ten). In the SEC, it's week after week you're getting beat on. You ain't getting beat on by the Purdues or Nebraskas.' Vanderbilt last faced a Big Ten program in 2019 — losing 42-24 to Purdue. Bielema caught wind of Pavia's comments and defended his conference. 'I understand what he's saying — he's regurgitating what's being said to him,' Bielema said. 'I think any given Saturday, anybody can beat anybody.' Bielema, who has coached in both conferences at Wisconsin, Arkansas and Illinois, pointed out that the SEC has no returning quarterbacks who led their team to 10-plus wins last season, while two of the Big Ten's five 10-plus-win teams return their starter: Penn State with Drew Allar and the Illini with Luke Altmyer. Big Ten teams went 6-4 last season against SEC teams, including a 5-1 mark in the postseason that included Illinois' Citrus Bowl victory over South Carolina. The Big Ten also boasts the last two national champions (Ohio State and Michigan) after SEC teams won 13 of the previous 17 national titles. 'The last three years, the evolution of college football with the portal and NIL has created a leveled playing field never seen before,' Bielema said. 'A lot of people want to live in the past and try to stay by the rules of the past, (but) I don't see any part of (that in) our future.' Bielema also noted that SEC coaches have pushed back against adding a ninth conference game as well as the idea of an annual 'challenge series' of games versus Big Ten teams. 'We voted unanimously as Big Ten coaches to stay at nine (conference games) and maybe have an SEC challenge,' Bielema said. 'I was told that (the SEC) voted unanimously to stay at eight and not play the Big Ten.' While the two conferences might not see eye to eye on who's No. 1, there's no denying the SEC and Big Ten view themselves as the best two conferences. In recent College Football Playoff discussions, they initially proposed that each get four automatic qualifiers for a 16-team playoff beginning in 2026, with two each for the ACC and Big 12, one for the highest-ranked champion from other conferences and three at-large berths. After pushback from the ACC and Big 12 — who proposed five automatic bids for conference champs plus 11 at-large spots — the CFP reportedly will 'start over' in format talks with a Dec. 1 deadline to solidify the 2026 playoff structure. 'These two leagues can beat anybody on any given Saturday,' Bielema said, 'and that's the part I'd like to see. I'd like it to be the best 16 teams. I don't think we can do a 16-team playoff if (the SEC is) not at nine (conference) games. Until you get to nine for everybody, I don't think it can work.' The 2025 season features a Week 1 game between Texas and host Ohio State. The rematch of a CFP semifinal, which the Buckeyes won 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl, is sure to refuel the conference supremacy debate.
Chicago Tribune
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Illinois football looks to cement its foothold in Chicago with events such as Illini Night at Wrigley Field
Members of the Illinois football team visited Wrigley Field on Tuesday for the second of three Illini Nights at major-league ballparks. It's one of many ways the program is looking to bolster its relationship with the city of Chicago. Recruiting is always on the mind of college coaches, and Bret Bielema wants Chicago to be an Illinois hub. With Champaign located more than two hours south of the city and Northwestern labeling itself 'Chicago's Big Ten team,' the Illini could face disadvantages when it comes to local talent. Bielema wants to change that. 'Since I took the job, I've talked about building relationships with Illinois, (and) we've done a better job in state, collectively downstate and here in the Chicago area,' Bielema said Tuesday. 'Going into Year 5, we have a roster that is significantly different and about half of it is from Illinois.' The current Illini roster lists 49 players from Illinois, including 33 from the Chicago area. Senior center Josh Kreutz from Loyola was among the players present for Illini Night. 'We weren't really a big 'go to Chicago all the time' family,' said Kreutz, who grew up in Bannockburn as the son of six-time Pro Bowl Bears center Olin Kreutz. 'I did go to a lot of Bears games growing up.' Added senior left guard Josh Gesky, who's from Manteno, north of Kankakee: 'I've been up here a few times and played here at Wrigley (against Northwestern last season). It's a great city to be a part of and I'm very excited that they were able to bring me here.' The Illini won that regular-season finale Nov. 30, beating the Wildcats 38-28 to reclaim the Land of Lincoln Trophy behind Aidan Laughery's career-high 172 rushing yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Luke Altmyer's 170 passing yards with two total touchdowns. No footballs were thrown at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, but that didn't mean there weren't lessons to be learned from watching a professional team play — especially for players with NFL dreams. 'You can learn from any aspect of anything you can do,' Gesky said before the game. 'If you have an open mind and are willing to learn, there are opportunities everywhere. If they're down by three (runs) in the third, how do they handle that? And how would I handle it?' Gesky's words proved almost prophetic. The Cubs fell behind 2-0 in the second on Isaac Collins' two-run homer for the Milwaukee Brewers, but they rallied for a 5-3 victory on Seiya Suzuki's three-run homer in the fifth and Pete Crow-Armstrong's solo shot in the eighth. The White Sox previously hosted an Illini Night at Rate Field on May 20, and the St. Louis Cardinals will have one at Busch Stadium for Wednesday's game against the Cubs. Tuesday's event included men's and women's basketball coaches Brad Underwood and Shauna Green throwing out ceremonial first pitches and Bielema singing 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' with Altmyer during the seventh-inning stretch. Some players questioned what Bielema's singing would sound like, but that didn't faze the coach. 'Super excited to be here,' he said pregame. 'Luke's going to duet with me (and) sharing the stage on the seventh-inning stretch is something I've never done before, so (it will be) a lot of fun.' Bielema and Altmyer also share the same vision for the coming season after the 2024 Illini finished 10-3 with a Citrus Bowl victory over South Carolina. Taking the next step would include contending for the Big Ten title and a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff, which would bring more attention to the program. 'We understand what's important,' Altmyer said. '(It's about) working hard and understanding what got us there and using the gift that we've been given. It's another element that brings eyes to us, but we don't get distracted because of the individuals in our building and our leader, Bielema. 'All the media stuff is new in this world and it wasn't that way back in the '90s and early 2000s. It's a new world and it's easy to get off the straight and narrow path, but when we see (the attention), that's just a part of it.' Before the season gets going, players find events like Illini Night helpful. They feel the intensity of football from spring practice through bowl season, so it's nice to focus on something else, even if just for a night. 'We do a lot of football,' Altmyer said, 'and to be able to get out of your environment, to just be yourself and to do something different with your school, especially with the people you love and the teammates you work really hard with, it's cool.'
USA Today
19-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer Calls Lamar Jackson the dual-threat G.O.A.T.
Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer Calls Lamar Jackson the dual-threat G.O.A.T. It was officially "Illini Night" at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, as the Chicago Cubs defeated division rival Milwaukee 5-3. As part of the festivities, Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer got to have a very "how cool was that?!" moment- singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" alongside his head coach, Bret Bielema, during the seventh inning stretch. Before the baseball game, Altmyer met with the media at a Wrigley Field adjacent pub, and talked some football. Asked which NFL quarterbacks he follows and studies, Altmyer responded with a list that included Baltimore Ravens superstar Lamar Jackson. "The guys you watch are the guys I watch, to be honest," Altmyer said at the University of Illinois private party, staged at the Brickhouse Tavern. I watch (Patrick) Mahomes, (Joe) Burrow, (Josh) Allen, and Lamar for good reasons. They're the best at what they do. I watch them all really, and take a lot from each one of them. Mahomes is pretty box office, so when he's playing, I'm tuning in, and Lamar and Burrow and Allen, I take a little bit from each of their games." Altmyer, who transferred into Illinois from an SEC school (Ole Miss) and turned down multiple opportunities to return to the Southeastern Conference to stay in Champaign, completed 60% of his passes last season for 2,717 yards, 22 touchdown passes against just six interceptions. He then mentioned his top quarterback role model, and it happens to be somebody that Bielema coached at the University of Wisconsin. "But growing up, I think Russell Wilson, which is crazy coincidence, because that's Bielema's guy, so it's cool," Altmyer continued. "Because I mimic his game a little bit, being able to run a little bit, throw it well, and a winner, and a guy who carries himself with some great character. So I look up to him a lot." We naturally invited him to elaborate on Lamar, asking him point-blank if he's the dual-threat quarterback G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time). "Yeah, that's pretty understood," Altmyer responded. "When he came out of college, people were saying he's gonna be a receiver. "And his speed and his agility, his elusiveness, but I respect him so much because of the way he's grown his passing. "I don't watch him because he's so elusive, I mean that's just raw talent, but just the way he operates within the pocket and makes the right throw, the right reads and I really think he's underrated." There is certainly validity to the idea that Jackson, ranked the 6th best player in the league by CBS Sports this year, is underrated, despite all his accomplishments and accolades. He didn't win the MVP this past season, despite having the best statistical campaign of his career. Altmyer expounded on the Lamar is underrated idea: "Even as good as he is, as a two-time MVP, and I think he's still underrated, not because he can run, that's obvious, but the way he can make it happen, whatever possible way it takes."
USA Today
19-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer discusses how he's trying to improve his NFL Draft stock
Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer discusses how he's trying to improve his NFL Draft stock In 2023, he had a 13-10 TD pass to INT ratio, 7.0 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 131.9. Last season, he improved those numbers to 22-6, 7.8 and 144.0 If you look at national college football starting quarterback power rankings, you'll often see Illinois Fighting Illini signal caller Luke Altmyer near the top. Among Big Ten QB1s, Altmyer is the highest tier of power rankings. However, if you look at NFL Draft prospect rankings for 2026, you won't often see Altmyer's name. This, despite all that he's accomplished at the collegiate level thus far. Altmyer has another chance this year at Illinois to get his name into the draft prospect conversation. When you look at his career arc, it's very likely that the Starkville, MS native and Ole Miss transfer will do so. In 2023, he had a 13-10 TD pass to INT ratio, 7.0 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 131.9. Last season, while leading the Illini to a 10 win season that included a New Year's bowl victory, he improved those numbers to 22-6, 7.8 and 144.0 To quote Disco Stu from The Simpsons, "if these trends Altmyer was on hand for Illini Night at Wrigley Field, meeting the media at a private function just outside the Friendly Confines. The Illinois quarterback would later sing the seventh inning stretch of Cubs vs Brewers, alongside his coach Bret Bielema, who told the fans who had traveled in from Wisconsin to "sit down." Prior to the distinctive "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" rendition, Altmyer provided some memorable soundbites. Asked what he's doing to work on his game, and improve his NFL Draft stock, he answered: "All areas, physically, I want to get better at my strength, my speed, my agility, my body control. "There's so many things that scouts and teams look at within a player that can go and help their team, and that's what I'm doing every single day. "It's what I did this morning, you know, to get stronger, to work on my balance, my health, my ability to sustain the season without injury, all that stuff. So I'm working really hard to do it. "So hopefully they see that on the field in 2025, but intangibly, it's those things I work on every single day too. I mean, the scouts and those NFL teams that pay the big bucks, they look into every little bit. So I just try to do whatever I can to be in that position one day, but there's tons of areas in my game I can get better at." On this current Illini squad, one that is widely considered to be a leading College Football Playoff contender in 2025, the individual player with the highest NFL Draft stock is edge rusher Gabe Jacas. "He's gonna make a lot of money in the NFL one day, probably," Altmyer said of Jacas. There are many factors in Altmyer's favor, one of which is his having experience in the two biggest college football conferences. While it's technically a "power four" these days, it's really more of a "power two" in the Big Ten and SEC. Altmyer has experience playing in both, and with that he's on the radar of coaches and personnel in both the south and the north. These people all know NFL people, and that can only help his professional prospects. Altmyer discussed his decision to leave Mississippi for Illinois, and why he decided to stay when the SEC offers came rolling again this offseason. "It's a long way from home, I'll tell you that," Altmyer added. "Out of high school, I didn't have a Big 10 offer at all, so it's something that's super foreign to me. I didn't grow up watching Big 10 football, and so it was definitely a mental hump that I had to get over, but it was the right thing to do. I knew that hump and that change and that growth would only bring out the best to me. "So it was definitely difficult, because it was change and growth, new people, new area, new everything, but I know that it's that hump that makes me who I am every single day. "So it's been great. My family's grown to love this place, Illinois, Chicago, Champaign, whatever it is. And so my friends, they all got their their calendar circled, all for the dates that they'll be up here to watch, and it's just it's a good time to be a little football fan."
