Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO — The college football season is once again upon us, accompanied by the welcoming background noise of marching bands playing “Seven Nation Army,” stadium singalongs to Tom Petty classics and nonstop arguments about the Big Ten versus the SEC.

Before the opening horn sample of “Jump Around” gets things jump-started, here are eight things to know to get you through the opening of the 2025 season.

— Illinois, your close-up is ready. This is as exciting as it gets for Illini football, the much-ignored stepbrother to Illini basketball. Bret Bielema’s team starts the season ranked No. 12 in both the AP and coaches polls, the first time Illinois has been ranked in the top 15 to start a season since 1990, when grunge was a new fad.

It would be nice to see

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