The 200 Level with Mike Carpenter: A Fighting Illini Fan Podcast

It was a sloppy affair in Piscataway as the Illini lost their third game of the season to Rutgers, 91-88. Mike Carpenter, Trevor Vallese and Isaac Ambrose react during the second half as Brad Underwood's squad continued some troubling trends.

Illinois football has their man in Bret Bielema, former Wisconsin Badgers coach and 2-time Big Ten champion. Mike Carpenter reacts to the hire and why Bielema makes the most sense for an Illini program in desperate search of consistency.

Bret Bielema, Lance Leipold, Jeff Monken . . . Luke Fickell? The rumor mill is churning and Mike Carpenter discusses the different names being thrown around for Illini football. All this, while tales of Lovie Smith's foibles emerge from former Illini.

Behind a breakout 33-point, 13-rebound performance from Kofi Cockburn, the Illini smoked Minnesota 92-65. Mike Carpenter reacts to the Big Ten opening win with Isaac Ambrose and Andrew Wilson.

It happened. Lovie Smith is no longer the head coach of Illinois football. Mike Carpenter reflects on Lovie's legacy, Josh Whitman's decision, and what kind of coach could turn around the fortunes for a long-dormant Illini program.

If you're a brave soul wishing to relive Illinois basketball's Bragging Rights crushing defeat to Missouri, then relive the excruciating comeback-that-wasn't with Mike Carpenter, Trevor Vallese and Isaac Ambrose.

Mike Carpenter discusses another lifeless Illini football loss at the hands of Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern. Five years into his tenure, Lovie Smith's program continues to be incompetent on the field. We've come to the end of the road, and it's time to move on.

Two days after the win at Duke and two days before Braggin' Rights in Columbia, MO, Illini fans are feeling great about their basketball program. Football, on the other hand? Mike Carpenter discusses the possibility of Lovie coming back in 2021 and the perilous impact it could have on the program.