College football round-up for July 24, 2024

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Bring on the new-look Big Ten.

That’s the way Illinois coach Bret Bielema feels.

Illini players will report to training camp next week and prepare to play in an 18-team Big Ten Conference. Pac-12 imports USC, ULCA, Washington and Oregon are now officially in the conference and Bielema is excited about the make-up of the league.

“I was at Wisconsin when we brought Nebraska in the league. We got to introduce them to college football in the Big Ten,” Bielema said at Big ten media days this week. Bringing in teams from the outside, is one of the greatest things you can do. It brings in new rivalries, it brings in new fans.”

Illinois, which opens fall training camp thew week of July 29, will travel to Oregon this season but will not play UCLA, USC or Washington this year. Nonetheless, Bielema thinks the west coast additions to the conference give him a better shot to recruit nationally.

“To recruit and tell kids you are going to play on the east coast, the west coast, and everywhere in between,” said Bielema. “There’s no other conference that can say that.”

Illinois State was picked sixth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll. But the Redbirds do have four players voted first team preseason all-conference, including running back Mason King.

He rushed for 980 yards and 14 touchdowns last year despite playing though a shoulder injury suffered early in the season.

“He had to play through a labrum tear throughout the whole season. We fixed that in the offseason,” said ISU coach Brock Spack. “He looks very good. He’s much bigger now. He’s put on 10-15 pounds of muscle. He’s had a really good offseason.”

ISU opens fall practice on Aug. 1.

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