The Really Big Week 0 Thing Was …
Welcome to the super seniors of 2021.
Illinois didn’t beat Nebraska because of its super seniors, but it sure as shoot didn’t hurt to have them in the mix.
After the ragged 2020 season, the NCAA allowed for everyone to have one extra year of eligibility, and – shock of shocks – a whole lot of college football players chose to live the life for one more year rather than jump into the real world.
Because of the super senior ruling, few teams caught a bigger break than Illinois.
In normal times, 2021 would be about a massive rebuild for the Illini. They brought in a new head coach, and Bret Bielema would have to figure out what was in place with a team decimated by a loss of experienced depth. Instead, back came 22 grown-ass men to provide the maturity and stability during the regime change.
There were breakdowns in the win over Nebraska, and the team wasn’t able to pull away and cruise to an easy win after getting a big lead, but it held on, the rotation on the lines turned out to matter on a hot day, and having the old guys across the board helped.
And that’s going to be one of the running themes of a unique college football season. Who has the extra veterans who can make a difference?
It’s a reason why you should care about Texas Tech. It has double-digit super seniors returning around a rising young star quarterback in Oregon transfer Tyler Shough.
The MAC has six teams with more than ten super seniors – Ball State, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan. The Sun Belt has seven – Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Texas State, and Troy.
Who would possibly want to leave the weather and the life at Arizona, Arizona State, San Jose State or San Diego State? Close to 50 combined players are returning at those four schools.
Does that mean all of those teams are going to rock? Probably not – not all of the super seniors play or are expected to make a big impact – but again, having them sure won’t hurt a USC, or a Utah, or an Ole Miss, or a Minnesota …
– Bret, Nebraska, UTEP Winners & Losers
– Nebraska’s loss: Most Overrated Thing
– UCLA’s win: Most Underrated Thing
– Learn from this already: What It All Means, Week 0