Not saying I'm confident about this one by any stretch, after the past three years count me in the "will believe it when I see it" club, but some pluses to consider:
Illinois will be in their first game of new schemes on both sides of the ball. They will likely have some hiccups. If we aren't more in-synch than they are it's going to be a very long season.
Folks look at Bret at Wiscy and underestimate how much Barry was still impacting that program. There is a reason they've stayed good with two coaches that struggled after leaving Wiscy and another that was nothing special coaching Pitt.
This team didn't come to play Illinois last season. They were coming-off the PSU win and had beaten Illinois the past two seasons, they were heavy favorites, took the game for granted. Should be more motivated and focused this game.
Last season had a ridiculous amount of turnovers even by our standards and the one that started the game really set the tone. Doubt we'll be turnover-free but for piss-sakes we shouldn't have five.
Our ST's have been largely garbage the past three seasons. We're finally putting the necessary time into them and have two guys with P5 ST's experience handling them. Busch is an upgrade on Rutledge and Dawson is an upgrade on the "by committee" approach where nobody took ownership. Could make a real difference this season.
We are obviously unproven but we should have more firepower on O this time around. We have a big, talented wr group that should provide the return of a vertical passing game, which would not only give us back quick-strike ability but also loosen-up defenses so the rest of the O works better. I think we have a talented, eclectic group at rb that will be an upgrade overall over last season where we had an often-hampered Mills, a small moonlighting wr, and guys that are now buried on the depthchart.
The last game against against Illinois was hands-down the D's worst of the season. They played better after that and most starters are back. As Reimers said they were embarrassed and are looking for payback. Plus we added a few pieces that could well help.