The Drive on ESPN 93.5

8/21/23 Hour 2: Underwood-Self pre-exhibition idea; Bielema talks position battles and training camp

Lon and Derek give some more thoughts on the Illinois-Kansas basketball exhibition and share an idea for a Q&A with the two coaches prior to the game. Later, hear from Bret Bielema as he updates training camp and shares some insight on positional battles.

8/21/23 Hour 1: Luke Altmyer named Illinois’ starting quarterback; Matt Tait (Wave the Wheat) talks Illinois-KU exhibition and Kansas football expectations

Lon and Derek react to Bret Bielema officially naming Luke Altmyer the starting quarterback for Illinois. Later, Matt Tait from Kansas site Wave the Wheat joins the show to chat some Bill Self, Illinois-KU exhibition game, and Kansas football.

8/18/23 Hour 2: Illinois & Kansas schedule a hoops charity game; Underwood on Spain trip

Lon and Derek discuss the news that Illini basketball and Kansas will play a charity exhibition game in October in Champaign. Later, hear from Brad Underwood on the Spain trip.

8/18/23 Hour 1: Art Sitkowski (Illini assistant QB coach); Bielema on QB competition & changes on defensive staff

Lon and Derek discuss Bret Bielema's comments on BTN regarding the QB competition and the defense with Aaron Henry calling the shots. Later, Illini assistant QB coach Artur Sitkowski joins the show for an awesome breakdown on the QB room and more.

8/17/23 Hour 2: Thoughts on Illini basketball’s non-conference slate; Joey Wagner (Illini Inquirer) on training camp

Lon and Derek discuss Illinois basketball's non-conference schedule, which was released on Wednesday night. Later, Derek catches up with Joey Wagner from Illini Inquirer to get his thoughts on Illini football training camp.

8/17/23 Hour 1: Weighing postseason success vs. regular season wins; Future of the NL Central

Lon and Derek talk about the Yankees and Cardinals being in unfamiliar territory, while also discussing how they view postseason success vs. regular season wins. Later, they talk about the Cubs' walk-off win on Wednesday night and also the future of the NL Central.

8/16/23 Hour 2: Part 2 of Lon & Derek’s conference realignment

Lon and Derek continue their discussion on future college football realignment and whether Illinois would make the 'second tier'.

8/16/23 Hour 1: How much pressure is on Aaron Rodgers to succeed in NY?; Bret Bielema training camp update

Lon and Derek discuss Aaron Rodgers' renewed energy in New York and how much pressure is on him this year. Later, hear from Bret Bielema for an update on training camp.

8/15/23 Hour 2: Building a 20-team mega conference for college football

Lon and Derek put together a 20-team mega conference for college football with 10 teams in the Amazon and Apple divisions.

8/15/23 Hour 1: What if the B1G & SEC powers formed a college football mega conference?

Lon and Derek dive in deep on what college football would look like for Illinois and nationally if the elites in the Big Ten and SEC broke away and formed their own mega conference.

8/14/23 Hour 2: Who had the best Illini hoops stat line in Spain?; Bret Bielema audio

Lon and Derek discuss the stat line for each Illini basketball player over in Spain. Later, hear from Bret Bielema from Illini football's media day on Saturday.

8/14/23 Hour 1: AP Top 25 debuts for college football; Illini struggle to shoot in Spain

Lon and Derek discuss where Big Ten teams stand in the first AP Top 25 of the college football season. Later, the guys discuss Illinois basketball's shooting woes in Spain.

8/11/23 Hour 2: The award-winning ’Who Ya Got?’; How much does Aaron Rodgers have left in the tank?

Derek gives his thoughts on the first Hard Knocks episode and the guys discuss expectations for Aaron Rodgers. Later, Hans Dee blesses the show with his award-winning 'Who Ya Got?' segment.

8/11/23 Hour 1: Hans Dee stops by; Will Waino get to 200 wins?; Thad Ward on the RB room

Hans Dee joins the guys for a throwback Friday show. The guys discuss whether Adam Wainwright can get to 200 wins. Later, hear from Illini RBs coach Thad Ward.

8/10/23 Hour 1: Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune) on Cubs’ playoff push; Are Cardinals fans spoiled?

Lon and Derek open the show talking baseball and whether Cardinals fans are spoiled. Later, the guys visit with Cubs beat writer Meghan Montemurro from the Chicago Tribune to discuss their playoff push.

8/9/23 Hour 2: How confident are you in Illinois’ WR room?; Training camp audio

Lon and Derek give their thoughts on Illinois' WR options this season. Later, hear from Illini WR coach George McDonald, WR Casey Washington and OLB Gabe Jacas.

8/9/23 Hour 1: Thoughts on Illini basketball’s 105-60 win vs. Valencia

Lon and Derek discuss Illinois' blowout win against Valencia in the second game of their Spain trip.

8/8/23 Hour 2: Piper’s top 5 most intriguing teams in the NFL this season

The guys discuss Derek's list of the top five most intriguing teams in the NFL this season.

8/8/23 Hour 1: Aaron Leming (Bear Report) on training camp, Justin Fields’ development & Yannik Ngakoue signing

Lon and Derek start the show talking football. Later, Aaron Leming of the Bear Report joins the guys to discuss training camp, Justin Fields and more.

8/7/23 Hour 2: Strength of schedules in B1G West; More realignment developments

Lon and Derek discuss the strength of schedules for each team in the Big Ten West. Later, the guys talk about what's next in conference realignment.