A Message to Illinois and Indiana Fans: Take a Breath and Count Your Blessings

If youve been paying any attention this week, youve already seen all the headlines: The winner of Illinois-Indiana going to the College Football Playoff? Game of the week for the first time ...

ever? Judgment is coming.

(So dramatic.) Dont open a new tab.

Well save you the energy.

Everyone is saying the same thing: two basketball schools meeting in the biggest football game of all time between the programs.

A College Football Playoff play-in game for a pair of (former?) Big Ten bottom-feeders.

To be clear, we here at Illinois on SI have also said all of these things, and they are all entirely true.

What Illinois-Indiana means for the Illini From the Illinois perspective, this game is almost a must-win.

In reality, the Illini can afford a loss to the Hoosiers , given that every contest remaining on their slate aside from an Oct.

11 date with No.

1 Ohio State is winnable.

Still, although thats the rational thought process, lets be real: If Illinois falls on Saturday, its recently enlarged football fanbase may dwindle and its Week 5 home matchup against USC (which, mind you, will almost certainly be more ranked-on-ranked action) may feature a number of empty seats at Gies Memorial Stadium for a contest that is already sold out.

So in terms of the CFP race, the Illini may not be in absolute dire need of a W on Saturday night, but in the eyes of the Illini faithful, there is not a game on the 2025 schedule (or in the past 15-plus years) that carries more weight.

What Illinois-Indiana means for the Hoosiers Indiana is facing a win-or-no-CFP situation.

Road contests at No.

6 Oregon and No.

2 Penn State await Curt Cignettis club both of which will be incredibly tough upsets to pull off.

A loss to Illinois would require Indiana to win at least one of those games and, even then, the Hoosiers would be sweating it out in early December.

And the elephant in the room: Indiana hasnt beat a ranked team since ...

the 2020 season opener (when IU won 36-35 at Penn State in overtime).

Yes, what the Hoosiers did last year was undoubtedly impressive and should not be glossed over.

But their two outings against ranked teams resulted in a point differential of minus-33.

(In their defense, both losses came against the two teams that made the national championship.) Illinois on Saturday will be make-or-break for Indiana.

Its now or never.

The Hoosiers either prove themselves and make a massive statement on national television, or they get written off by the entire college football world again and an argument could be made that it even tarnishes the legacy of their 2024 season.

Indiana fans, who tend to stick around a bit longer even when things turn downhill (take notes, Illini Nation), may not be running for the hills after a loss on Saturday night, but probably will start turning the page to basketball season.

But, lets all take a big step backwards.

Maybe two or three, actually.

Hello, Illini fans Illinois fans, youre up first.

You all know this information, but lets give it some thought and let it sink in: The Illini went 10-3 last year and won a bowl game.

The program hadnt won a bowl game since 2011.

The last 10-win season came in 2001.

For some additional perspective, there have been four seasons with double-digit losses since then.

In other words: it is not College Football Playoff or bust.

We get it.

You hate Indiana.

But the season isnt over if the Illini drop this one.

As previously mentioned, Illinois still can make the CFP with a loss.

More importantly, the Illini can have a spectacular , momentum-building season without a CFP berth.

Welcome to the party, Hoosier Nation As for you Indiana fans, we also recognize you despise Illinois.

But, hello ? In Cignettis first season, he shattered the program record with 11 wins (IU had never had a season of double-digit wins) and pushed the Hoosiers to the CFP.

We get it.

You get a taste of victory and you want more.

Its not a bad thing to have an insatiable appetite for victory.

(Hopefully you apply it to all aspects of your life.) But how greedy can you be? Like Rome, Alabama and Ohio State weren't built in a day.

You, too, can have a successful season that builds upon 2024, even without a spot in the CFP.

The solution: Bask in the glory Go ahead: Sit back, kick your feet up and enjoy.

Grab some chips and salsa, invite friends over to the house, toss something on the grill.

Whatever your heart desires.

But do not we repeat, do not write off your squad in the event of a loss.

Sorry, perhaps that wasnt aggressive enough.

DONT YOU DARE kick your team to the curb if it falls Saturday night.

Both Bret Bielema and Cignetti have built something impressive and unseen in decades in their respective cities.

The ability of a sport especially football on a college campus and its surrounding community to create energy, excitement and camraderie among a large group of people is a beautiful thing.

One loss (even to one of your most bitter rivals) should not jeopardize that.

Dont let it..

This article has been shared from the original article on si, here is the link to the original article.