Illinois Fighting Illini 2020 Football Preview

Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Illinois moved out of the Big Ten West Division basement last season. Can they stay out of basement?

Last season, I took some abuse in the CornNation comments for my prediction that Lovie Smith would move Illinois out of the Big Ten’s West basement and into a bowl game. And to be honest, after the Illini lost to Eastern Michigan, it sure looked like I was an idiot. But then Illinois won four out of their last six games (including upsets of Wisconsin and Michigan State) to finish fourth in the west and play Cal in the Redbox Bowl at the 49ers stadium in Santa Clara, CA.

So I got that right. What I didn’t get right was the quarterback situation, as I thought five-star freshman Isaiah Williams (5’10” 180 lbs.) would be the starting quarterback. Williams played only sparingly in four games (completing only three of ten passes with an interception), preserving his redshirt. Instead, it was Michigan transfer Brandon Peters (6’5” 220 lbs.) seizing the quarterback job. Peters completed 55% of his passes for 1,864 yards and 18 touchdowns with eight interceptions. He also rushed for 213 yards and three touchdowns, showing much more mobility than he ever showed at Michigan. Sophomore Matt Robinson (6’1” 190 lbs.) was the primary backup last season, completing 54.5% of his passes in starts against Michigan and Northwestern when Peters was out with a concussion. Williams played some receiver in the Redbox Bowl, which might be a clue that Illinois might be looking at a “Slash”/Wildcat role for Williams in 2020.