ESPN's Heather Dinich predicts Illinois will be this year's Indiana

ESPN’s Heather Dinich predicted that Illinois will be the Indiana of 2025. What does that mean? Well, perhaps the Fighting Illini will be the college football darling and get into the College Football Playoff as an underdog.

Heck, Illinois won 10 games last year under Bret Bielema, including the bowl game. So perhaps there’s a blueprint for them this Fall.

There’s still a long way to go before the season starts, but Illinois could be a sneaky good team in the Big Ten once again. Heck, Joel Klatt has them in his post-spring Top 10 teams. Count Dinich among the latest college football commentators to peg them as a dark horse.

“I think that Illinois is going to be this year’s Indiana, if i’m being honest with you,” Dinich sad on The Pat McAfee Show. “I really like what blma has coming back. They got a quarterback, they got eighteen starters, they got all their stars back on the offensive line, and they don’t play Oregon, Michigan or Penn State. I think that’s right. So think about that schedule like Indiana has last year, so look out for the Illini.”

As far as the Big Ten games are concerned, Illinois will play the aforementioned Indiana, USC, Purdue, Ohio State, Washington, Rutgers, Maryland, Wisconsin and Northwestern. So yes, it definitely seems favorable for Bielema and crew.

What really helps Illinois is quarterback Luke Altmyer sticking around the program. There were rumors he’d hit the transfer portal, but he confirmed in April that he was staying. As Indiana knew last year, a good QB can take you a long way.

Altmyer was among several quarterbacks that were mentioned as possible transfer fits for Tennessee following Nico Iamaleava‘s surprising decision to enter the portal following a failed NIL renegotiation. But Iamaleava’s formal commitment to UCLA on led to what many are calling college football’s first “trade” when now-former Bruins QB Joey Aguilar, the ex-Appalachian State transfer, re-entered the portal only to sign with the Volunteers a day later.

Altmyer, the former Ole Miss transfer, is entering his third season directing the Fighting Illini offense following a career-best 2024 campaign. He threw for 2,717 yards on 60.8-percent passing and 22 touchdowns to six interceptions while adding 217 rushing yards and four scores on the ground.