'Winning is fun....fun is winning.'

Next up Central Michigan...

*Central Michigan (1-1) at Illinois (2-0)

11AM Central kickoff Saturday

TV: Peacock

*Notes: Homecoming game for the Fighting Illini...yeah seems odd to have a homecoming game mid-September......maybe DIA felt having it this early would help pump up ticket sales?....Central Michigan either 17.5 to 20-point underdog on Saturday....Chippewas beat FCS Central Connecticut State 66-10 in their home opener...last week on the road in Miami lost 52-16 to Florida International....Jim McElwain in his sixth year as head coach....Chips coming off two losing seasons picked to finish 7th in the 12-team MAC....Peacock announcers will be Jac Collinsworth and former Penn State quarterback Michael Robinson.

*Central Michigan at a glance...

Watched both Central Michigan games.....Central Connecticut State shouldn't be playing any FBS teams.....awful....FIU game?  Again got little out of it cause CMU fell behind early kept screwing up....Former Hawkeye Joe Labas (#2) started first two games for the Chips at QB....has a live arm/quick feet ….'one great play followed by three bad ones' type of QB....threw five interceptions vs. FIU...has a lot of confidence in his arm leading to reckless throws...no wonder he never played at Iowa.....Defensively Chips play a lot of man coverage/love the blitz early downs....FIU offense continually burned that 'look'…..ILL should be able to work on their run game vs. this ‘D’.

Prediction:  McElwain from the John L. Smith/Petrino Big Sky Country school of coaching…which means plenty of loud ass-chewing in the football facility/at practice this week…...would be shocked if CMU wasn't ready to play on Saturday....FIU game on the road....Chips fucked up early on offense...put their 'D' in bad position leading to the blowout....CMU has skill players on offense have to respect…QB can get on a hot streak if Labas is the starter.

To me this game is all about the Illini...easy to get your team fired up to play Kansas in a sold-out stadium/grudge match....can Bret Bielema/staff get the team fired up to play a team on film that looks as bad as Central Michigan?....will see what kind of team leadership/maturity/ability of staff to keep the Illini focused on what on paper should be an easy win....if you got CMU getting 20 points even on the road....seems like a lot...ILL. wins do they cover?…don’t ‘believe’ quite yet…My advice?…..Stay away from betting on this one.

*Big Ten football thoughts...

-Freshman Ca' Lil Valentine hits hole quicker than any Illini back in quite awhile....love the toughness/feisty play of #5 Ohio transfer cornerback Torrie Cox Jr....young man competes every play.

-Yeah I know....naysayers after the Kansas win 'concerned' about both sides of the Illini lines/play calling of the offensive coordinator....all have to improve right?  J.C. Davis the real deal at left tackle...Melvin Priestly at the other tackle was better than expected...interior o-line has to get better...D-line same....watching college football all weekend...plenty of other B1G teams with the same issues after two games as ILL.....play-calling?  With two NFL wide receivers in Franklin and Bryant...throw the damn ball down the field while the weather is still warm.

-Have to wonder why three highly touted transfers can't get off the Illini bench at positions of need....Jayhawks every must have pass play went after cornerback Kaleb Patterson....Patterson beat out Texas transfer cornerback Terrance Brooks for the starting job....as written above....Illinois interior o-line needs to get better Michigan State transfer/guard Kevin Wigenton can't get any playing time....Enyce Sledge transfer nose guard from Auburn did I miss him on the injury report?.....thought all three would be key pieces of the puzzle this season.

-What about Michigan?  Texas tougher/out-coached Michigan in Ann Arbor…....Wolverines with two-first round picks on the d-line awful run fits/shitty scheme adjustments defensively....both Michigan quarterbacks stink...could be a very long season for the defending national champs……real heart-breaker right?

-'Nebraska is back!'...media/fans of Nebraska after beating two awful teams (UTEP/Colorado) at home....Huskers o-line still plays with no power….who knows how good their ‘D’ really is?....note to Buffs head coach Deion Sanders....can have all the talented skill position players you want but if both sides of your line suck (CU O-line just awful)....going to lose a lot more than you win....football still a game about who has the best line(s)….yeah I know…’game has changed’ and can win games with shitty lines….true (Illinois 23 Kansas 17, Bears over Titans)….can win a game here and there with shitty lines….over a whole season? Not a sustainable ‘strategy’.

-'A Baltimore County man has been charged with breaking into the University of Maryland's football facility and stealing from Terps coach Mike Locksley, Jon Domen of WTOP reported on Friday. Marcus Trent, a 48-year-old from Reisterstown, allegedly crept into Jones-Hill House in June and stole nearly $2,800 from Locksley, among other things.' (Courtesy 247 Sports).....Illini fan Andy George had it right with his comment on twitter/X about story....’This is an episode of The Wire that didn’t make the cut.'.....first of all...anything involving Locksley doesn't surprise me....Maryland football 'chief of staff' also had a wad of cash in his office/stolen….So many questions?…how did the guy get in?….how did he know money was there and where it was at?….WTF is Lox doing with all that cash in his office?….stay tuned.

-Not football related……going on a month now Illini men’s basketball assistant coach Tim Anderson rumored to be leaving the program…Anderson hasn’t been attending ILL. events with the staff/team…..why leave?….rumors everything from wanting a contract extension/raise (in the last year of his deal with ILL.) to being upset he wasn’t pushed hard enough by Brad Underwood/AD for head coaching jobs (UIC)…..Anderson long time association with Chicagoland AAU program MeanStreets….10-15 years ago would have been a concern to lose those ties when assistant leaves….now?…transfer portal/international recruiting…can find players everywhere/rebuild the roster yearly….recruiting ties to one AAU program not as important as they once were in college hoops.

*What ever happened to?...

-Being what you would call a recruiting 'historian'....especially in football...coaches always say about a class...1/3 of the players signed work out...1/3 of the players are just guys...1/3 disappear...always wonder about those that 'disappear'/why things didn't work out....sad news former Illini football player Matt Studtmann died last June 58-years old.

Background...Studtmann was a 6-foot-4, 230-pound Class of 1984 four-star linebacker prospect out of Belleville (Ill.) West High School...rated by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as one of the top three recruits in the area......White's program beat out Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa and Nebraska for him....Champaign (Ill.) News-Gazette picked Studtmann as their 1983 state player of the year…What you have to understand about the honor…..White’s buddy N-G sports editor Loren Tate final say on the all-state team with input from the Illini staff of course…tells you how highly the coaches thought of Studtmann to have him chosen P.O.Y.

Studtmann came to Champaign...never found a position...wasn't quick/fast enough for linebacker....moved to defensive line and could never get 'big enough' to be a contributor.....got homesick/had a ‘girl’ back home he missed…left before 1986 season….how a player 'fits' into a program/with players on the team not talked enough about in recruiting.....Studtmann never found his ‘fit’….He went back to the metro area working/living in around Collinsville till his passing....no cause of death given in obit.