Illinois’ season started incredibly. The Fighting Illini looked as if they were going to be one of the top at-large bids from the Big Ten. Then, Indiana ran through them with very little resistance. One of the reasons for the beatdown was due to Illinois’s secondary being without most of its starters. While the 63-10 loss hurt, the news that All-Big Ten defender and star Xavier Scott will likely miss the remainder of the 2025 season hurt worse.
Scott did not suit up for Illinois’s worst loss since 2018. That year, the Fighting Illini allowed 63 points on three separate occasions. The 2018 team was not anywhere close to competing for a College Football Playoff bid. This year’s team, however, was. Now, Brett Bielema’s team will have to push forward without its best defender.
Xavier Scott to Have Surgery, May Miss Rest of Season
The presence of Scott might not have fully prevented Indiana from completing 21-of-23 passing for 267 yards and five touchdowns, but he could have helped. In his three games this year, Scott amassed six tackles, two tackles for loss, and two pass breakups. Last year, he earned first-team All-Big Ten honors after posting 49 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, six pass breakups, a forced fumble, and four interceptions. In the win over Kansas, Scott returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown just before halftime.
In 2023, Scott broke out with 57 tackles, a forced fumble, two interceptions, and a Big Ten-best 11 pass breakups. There was legitimate NFL Draft hype for the Illini star after last year, but he elected to return for his senior season. While the expectation if this surgery knocks him out for the rest of the year, that he’s played his final snap for the Illini, he could return in 2026. Scott only appeared in three games this year, thus preserving his redshirt.
There is still hope that the senior playmaker could return late this year, and Bielema did not fully rule him out for a return. In the meantime, the offenses of USC, Ohio State, and Washington will work to make matters worse over the next five weeks.
The Road Ahead
Indiana’s passing attack has been impressive this year, but against Illinois, it was near-perfect. Up next, USC comes to town with a perfect 4-0 record behind an impressive season from Jayden Maiava. The UNLV transfer is on fire to start 2025, completing 70.8% of his passes. He leads the Big Ten with 1,223 yards and is tied for fourth with nine touchdowns. Maiava also hasn’t thrown an interception yet.
After that, the Illini will travel to Purdue. While the Boilermakers are not among the elites of the conference, they have a quarterback in Ryan Browne with 1,036 yards and six touchdowns through four games. On October 11, the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes come to town. Needless to say, with Julian Sayin throwing to Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, the Illini will miss Scott in coverage.
After an off-week, Illinois gets to travel to Washington to take on Demond Williams Jr. and his dual-threat playmaking for the Huskies.
It was going to be difficult for the Illini to pull upsets over the top teams in the conference. However, as the ninth-ranked team heading into last weekend, Illinois would have been well-suited to make some serious noise. Now, with Scott’s injury, the mountain has just become significantly steeper.
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