ESPN’s Disrespect of Bret Bielema & Illinois Forces CFB Analyst’s Blunt Expose

You know college football has its share of drama, but when a program like Illinois gets the cold shoulder before the season starts, that’s no good. Bret Bielema has refashioned the Illini into a hard-nosed, hard-fighting program, coming off a 10-3 season, with a Citrus Bowl victory. The Illini return 16 starters, the most starters returning in the Big Ten. Despite this, ESPN’s Football Power Index placed the Illini at No.37, a ranking that appears to undervalue their recent achievements and future potential.

Why is it that ESPN’s FPI has pushed Illinois down? Danny Kanell, never one to mince words, hits us with the truth. In a viral rant, he tore into ESPN’s FPI: “We got something fishy going on in college football, and the season hasn’t even started yet,” he said. He called out Miami’s steep drop, Clemson’s quiet slide, and then pointed to South Carolina jumping four spots, Florida five, despite no big roster moves or wins to justify it. He joked, “Must be all the good news around DJ Lagway,” and lamented how “strength of schedule” from SEC media days seems to be creeping into an algorithm that is supposed to stay objective.

That brings us full circle back to Illinois. Bielema’s team deserves DBA-level respect, not a spot in obscurity. “Brett Bielema, who beat the South Carolina team in their bowl game, brings back one of the most returning production of any team in college football, including their quarterback, Luke Altmeyer,” Kanell said. “And guess where they check in, all the way down at number 37 it’s absolutely ridiculous.” They beat South Carolina in their bowl game, they return just about every major cog (including QB Luke Altmyer and defensive force Gabe Jacas), yet the FPI still reads them like a footnote. He took to X to address the contempt, and captioned it as, “This should be alarming to every fan base outside of the SEC…great find by @CFBKings (somehow @BretBielema squad getting disrespected yet again. Smh)”

Kanell warned that if SEC teams keep getting phantom boosts, even with losses, the playoff committee and fans will continue to reward them over actual merit-based programs. If a 9-3 SEC squad is getting more love than an 11-1 Big Ten or ACC team, that’s a trend we’ve seen before, and it’s a problem. Don’t write off the Illini, though, while the FPI snubs sting, Illinois is standing still. In fact, everything about this team is pointing up.

Illinois enters 2025 with a new spotlight, from underdogs to contenders

Bret Bielema’s squad has gone from plucky underdog to prime-time contender. And that shift changes everything about how opponents view them in 2025. “What concerns me for Illinois is expectations,” McElroy said on the ESPN College Football channel. “When you win 10 games a year ago for only the fifth time in school history. You finish the season with a win over an SEC team in the bowl game. They beat four ranked opponents for the first time in nearly 20 years. Last year, they could kind of fly under the radar. That’s not the case anymore. Now they’re going to have every single team’s attention on their schedule.”

McElroy’s statement has added weight when considering the way last season began. Illinois rolled through its first four games unscathed – beating Nebraska and then pulling off a program-defining upset against a ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor. But what makes this season compelling is whether Illinois can deal with that target. So while McElroy is right to get excited about expectations, Illinois looks more than capable of handling that weight. They’re deep, experienced, and hungry. If they can turn those expectations into motivation rather than pressure, this season could not only be a bounce-back season but the start of something greater in Champaign.