Game 2 vs. Illinois Fighting Illini
This game will be a dogfight. It will be a huge test of where the Kansas football program is at and will be a turning point for the rest of the season. The Fighting Illini are coming off a really successful season in 2022, going 8-5 (5-4) in the Big Ten Conference. Illinois made its first bowl game since 2019, playing and losing against No. 22 Mississippi State in the ReliaQuest bowl played in Tampa, Florida.
Bret Bielema is an accomplished coach with a ton of experience at the Power 5 level, he loves to play a physical brand of football and predicated a lot of his success on running the ball and playing great defense. To me, Illinois plays a lot like the Kansas State Wildcats and the Baylor Bears from the Big 12. Now, Illinois loses a lot from their team last year, such as QB Tommy Devito, RB Chase Brown, CB Devon Witherspoon, a top 5 NFL Draft pick.
I think the biggest loss for the Illini is their defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, who left to take the Purdue head coaching job. The Illini defense was one of the best in the country last year and will need to replace a lot of their secondary along with their defensive coordinator.
I think the losses on both sides of the ball for Illinois will prove to be too much in this game, and Kansas will be able to move the ball fairly easily. I predict Kansas winning this game at home in a very closely contested game.
My Prediction:
Kansas wins 24-20 over Illinois
Kansas Football Record: 2-0