Author: Caleb Horn

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Caleb Horn has recently joined the team at Gridirion Heroics. He has been in the Air Force going on six years now. Born and raised in central Illinois he grew up watching the Fighting Illini and Chicago Bears and will be covering his favorite ball clubs for Gridiron.

After Saturday’s crushing playoff loss to the Chiefs, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence had one thing on his mind “We will be back.” The first game of the Divisional Round lived up to it’s billing on Saturday, but just as any playoff run someone’s season has to come to an end. If there is a team that should feel good about where they are headed, its Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars. The future had not quite arrived, but “objects in mirror are closer than they appear”. In the opening statement of his postgame press conference the Jaguars quarterback made sure to…

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Former NFL safety and Hall of Famer, Ed Reed has just posted on his social media accounts that Bethune Cookman has informed him they will not be ratifying his contract, forcing him to withdraw as the school’s next head coach. His statement reads: “It’s my desire to not only coach football, but to be an agent of change that most people just talk about being. However, after weeks of negotiations I’ve been informed that the university won’t be ratifying my contract and won’t make good on the agreement we had in principle, which had provisions and resources best needed to…

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The Divisional Round is always bitter sweet. While it is arguably the most enticing weekend of football, it’s also the last weekend of multiple football games until September — in fact there will be more games played this weekend than there will between next week and the start of the 2023 season. Quite a sobering thought isn’t it? Chiefs vs Jaguars kicks off what should be an epic weekend of football featuring two of the top quarterbacks in the conference, possibly the entire league. Before we get into this year’s matchups lets revisit the beautiful chaos that was last year’s…

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It’s time for the NFL playoffs. The cream has risen to the top, as the sports cliche goes. And the teams that didn’t qualify are pondering why — and positioning themselves for the NFL Draft. The Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the hottest teams coming in to postseason play. After a five game losing streak earlier in the year that seemingly left the team for dead, the Jaguars turned it on, winning seven of their last nine games including a current five game winning streak. Jacksonville has won in every way imaginable during their streak, from close games, shootouts, and…

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After an unbelievable night of New Year’s Eve games, trying to follow the College Football Playoff Semifinals almost feels unfair. Last night is what makes college football so special. You don’t get that level of drama and emotional investment like that in the NFL. Reliaquest Bowl, your move. With that said, there are only five bowl games remaining, and it is my duty to inform you to soak up every last minute of botched trick plays, controversial hits, and career-defining plays. The first of the last and the first game of the 2023 calendar year belongs to this season’s ReliaQuest…

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Ladies and gentlemen, we got him, the Fighting Illini have their quarterback. Ole Miss sophomore quarterback Luke Altmyer Thursday afternoon announced his commitment minutes after Illinois head coach Bret Bielema tweeted out his signature “Bret signal”. https://twitter.com/BretBielema/status/1608600947290443777 https://twitter.com/lukealtmyer9/status/1608606297259409408 Nearly a month ago to the day, former four star prospect announced his intent to enter the transfer portal after the Texas Bowl. The quarterback visited Illinois campus earlier this month and was figured to be one of Illinois’ top choices next to recent Purdue commit, Hudson Card. Despite tight lips, subtle comments by coach Bielema made it easy to figure either…

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In one of the coldest bowl games to date, the 2022 Armed Forces Bowl played perfectly into the the hands of the Air Force Falcons (10-3). Using the frigid temps (13 degrees, -1 degree wind chill) to their advantage they dominated the trenches from kickoff to the final whistle on their way to becoming champions. Securing their fifth 10+ win season, and fifth bowl victory since 2014, the Falcons have proven to be the cream of the crop between the three service academies. As a team that ranks number one in the country in rushing offense, Thursday night’s weather couldn’t…

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Is there a better way to spend Christmas Eve than on the Hawaiian Islands playing in the Hawaii Bowl? The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (7-5) and San Diego State Aztecs (7-5) get the pleasure of playing in the most sought after destination bowl game this year. Saturday’s game will be aired on ESPN at 7:00 PM CST. Due to covid precautions it will be the fist Hawaii Bowl since 2019 – a game in which the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors defeated the BYU Cougars. The Hawaii Bowl debuted on Christmas of 2002 and has remained a mainstay as a Christmas tradition…

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The 20th rendition of the Armed Forces Bowl is set to take off December 22nd pitting last year’s Big 12 champion Baylor Bears (6-6) against the 9-3 Air Force Falcons. Of the 11 seasons in which a service academy has been invited to the Armed Forces Bowl, they have managed to run a 6-5 record on the heels of a two-game winning streak. Can the Falcons continue the trend or will Baylor even the score? This year will be the first for the Falcons since 2015 when they lost 55-36 to the California Bears, and will be their sixth overall…

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The Fighting Illini are bowling for the 20th time in program history. Illinois (8-4) was invited to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl, formerly known as the Outback Bowl from 1996-2022, against 22nd ranked Mississippi State (8-4). The game is scheduled to kickoff at 11:00 a.m. cst, on January 2nd and will air on ESPN2. Since there is nearly a month between now gameday lets take a look at Illinois bowl game history to pass the time — From Illinois’ bowl debut in the 1947 Rose Bowl to their most recent appearance in the 2019 RedBox Bowl, and everything in between.…

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