Illinois — Big Ten
HC
Bret Bielema · Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) · Champaign, IL · 60,670 cap
PPA off / def
0.21 / 0.19
2025
Class rank
#24
class of 2026
Returning PPA
21%
returning production
vs Ohio State — OSU leads 70–30
| 2025 |
OSU W 34–16 | away |
| 2017 |
OSU W 52–14 | Columbus |
| 2015 |
OSU W 28–3 | away |
| 2014 |
OSU W 55–14 | Columbus |
| 2013 |
OSU W 60–35 | away |
| 2012 |
OSU W 52–22 | Columbus |
| 2011 |
OSU W 17–7 | away |
| 2010 |
OSU W 24–13 | away |
| 2009 |
OSU W 30–0 | Columbus |
| 2008 |
OSU W 30–20 | away |
| + 94 earlier meetings in archive |
2026 schedule
| Wk | Opponent | All-time series | Venue |
|---|
| wk1 | vs UAB | | Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) |
| wk2 | vs Duke | leads 2–1 · W2 | Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) |
| wk3 | vs Southern Illinois | leads 4–0 · W4 | Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) |
| wk4 | at Ohio State | Ohio State leads 69–30–4 · L10 | Ohio Stadium |
| wk5 | vs Purdue | leads 47–46–6 · W2 | Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) |
| wk6 | at Michigan State | Michigan State leads 27–19–2 | Spartan Stadium |
| wk8 | vs Oregon | Oregon leads 3–1 · L3 | Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) |
| wk9 | at Maryland | tied 2–2 · W2 | SECU Stadium |
| wk10 | vs Nebraska | Nebraska leads 14–7–1 | Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) |
| wk11 | at UCLA | tied 6–6 | Rose Bowl |
| wk12 | vs Iowa | tied 38–38–2 | Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) |
| wk13 | at Northwestern | leads 58–55–5 · W2 | Ryan Field |
2025 results (9–4)
Statistical comps — 2025 Illinois's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (20 in / 27 out)
Origins
On one October afternoon in 1924 Grange scored four touchdowns in twelve minutes against Michigan, and Grantland Rice called him the Galloping Ghost. He then turned professional and made the NFL viable.
Founded 1867 · Land-grant industrial university created under the Morrill Act · first football 1890 · defined by Red Grange
All-time record
All-time
641–631–49
1892–2025
Win %
50.4%
134 seasons played
Winning seasons
67
50% of seasons
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 2001 | 10 | 2 | Big Ten |
| 1989 | 10 | 2 | Big Ten |
| 1983 | 10 | 2 | Big Ten |
| 1902 | 10 | 2 | Western |
| 2024 | 10 | 3 | Big Ten |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1892 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 336 | 56% |
46% | 36 of 136 | 5.7 | 11% |
| 2nd down | 249 | 52% |
54% | 1 of 136 | 7.5 | 16% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 50 | 58% |
68% | — | 4.1 | 8% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 40 | 28% |
35% | — | 4.0 | 15% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 44 | 14% |
27% | — | 6.0 | 16% |
| 4th down | 20 | 50% |
50% | — | 1.8 | 10% |
136 drives · 43% ended in points · 7.6 plays and 44.1 yards per drive · 1.22 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 5 | USC |
Luke Altmyer pass complete to Kaden Feagin for 64 yds for a TD (David Olano KICK) |
64 | 5.95 |
| 6 | Purdue |
Luke Altmyer pass complete to Hank Beatty for 62 yds for a TD (David Olano KICK) |
62 | 4.95 |
| 4 | Indiana |
Luke Altmyer pass complete to Collin Dixon for 59 yds for a TD (David Olano KICK) |
59 | 4.66 |
| 1 | Western Illinois |
Luke Altmyer pass complete to Hank Beatty for 59 yds to the WIU 4 for a 1ST down |
59 | 4.53 |
| 1 | Western Illinois |
Aidan Laughery run for 57 yds for a TD (David Olano KICK) |
57 | 4.47 |
| 6 | Purdue |
Luke Altmyer pass complete to Hank Beatty for 49 yds to the PUR 1 for a 1ST down |
49 | 4.16 |
| 5 | USC |
Luke Altmyer pass complete to Collin Dixon for 61 yds to the USC 12 for a 1ST down |
61 | 4.00 |
| 10 | Rutgers |
(11:48) Shotgun #9 L.Altmyer rush right for 24 yards gain to the RUT42 (#5 K.Sanders), 1ST… |
24 | 3.85 |