May 24—***
I was looking for some reading material Saturday to help fill the holiday weekend. Like everyone else in Champaign-Urbana, I zipped over to Barnes & Noble.
There in the magazine section I found it: Athlon Sports’ 2026 college football preview.
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I told you earlier in this space that Illinois is picked to finish ninth in the loaded Big Ten. When I cracked open the 220 pages — including an Illinois preview by me — there was so much more detail.
A couple things that drew my attention at the start. First, Illinois transfer quarterback Katin Houser, who spent time at Michigan State and East Carolina, is valued. He is picked as the Big Ten’s No. 10 transfer.
The magazine also speculated on the bowl destinations for the entire 18-team league. Ten schools are picked to go somewhere, including Illinois to the Rate Bowl against TCU.
Athlon expects three Big Ten teams to make the College Football Playoff: Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State. It projects the Hoosiers and Ducks to reach the quarterfinal round and the Buckeyes to advance to the title game against Georgia after a semifinal win against Notre Dame. We’ll see.
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In the Big Ten unit rankings, the highest position group for Illinois is No. 10: quarterback, running back, receiver and offensive line. Ohio State is listed in the top three of all seven position groups. So is Oregon. Both teams are on the Illinois schedule in 2026.
