Illinois Fighting Illini
Big Ten
5-7 (4-5 conf)
SP+ #64
Ratings
2021
- SP+
- 4.3 (#64)
- SP+ Offense
- 23.2
- SP+ Defense
- 21.8
- SRS
- -0.9
- FPI
- 0.5
- Elo
- 1495
- Talent
- 630
- Recruiting
- 159 (#73)
Schedule
record 5–7
Schedule
9th
toughest of 130
Offenses faced
30th
toughest of 130
Defenses faced
6th
toughest of 130
Strength of schedule — how tough this team's opponents are, ranked 1 (hardest) to 130 (easiest).
| Wk | Opponent | SP+ | Score | Margin | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vsNebraska | +10.3 | 30-22 | +8 | W |
| 1 | vsUTSA | +6.5 | 30-37 | -7 | L |
| 2 | @Virginia | +7.2 | 14-42 | -28 | L |
| 3 | vsMaryland | +6.2 | 17-20 | -3 | L |
| 4 | @Purdue | +10.3 | 9-13 | -4 | L |
| 5 | vsCharlotte | -13.7 | 24-14 | +10 | W |
| 6 | vsWisconsin | +20.1 | 0-24 | -24 | L |
| 8 | @Penn State | +14.3 | 20-18 | +2 | W |
| 9 | vsRutgers | -3 | 14-20 | -6 | L |
| 10 | @Minnesota | +14.4 | 14-6 | +8 | W |
| 12 | @Iowa | +11.4 | 23-33 | -10 | L |
| 13 | vsNorthwestern | -11.1 | 47-14 | +33 | W |
Quarterbacks · 2
2021 · 56
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | 1st | Brandon Peters | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| QB | 2nd | Artur Sitkowski | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Running Backs · 6
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RB | 1st | Chase Brown | — | — | — | — |
| RB | 2nd | Josh McCray | SR | 6'1" | 235 | ★★★ |
| RB | 3rd | Reggie Love III | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| RB | 4th | Jakari Norwood | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| RB | 5th | Mike Epstein | — | — | — | — |
| RB | 6th | Chase Hayden | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
Wide Receivers · 7
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 1st | Isaiah Williams | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| WR | 2nd | Donny Navarro | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 3rd | Casey Washington | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| WR | 4th | Deuce Spann | SR | 6'4" | 210 | — |
| WR | 5th | Patrick Bryant | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 6th | Dalevon Campbell | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 7th | Carlos Sandy | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Tight Ends · 4
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE | 1st | Daniel Barker | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| TE | 2nd | Luke Ford | — | — | — | — |
| TE | 3rd | Tip Reiman | — | — | — | — |
| TE | 4th | Michael Marchese | — | — | — | — |
Defensive Line · 8
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DL | 1st | Jer'Zhan Newton | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 2nd | Keith Randolph Jr. | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 3rd | Roderick Perry | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 4th | Jamal Woods | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DL | 5th | Calvin Avery | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| DL | 6th | DJ Johnson | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 7th | Verdis Brown | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| DL | 8th | Bryce Barnes | — | — | — | — |
Linebackers · 13
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LB | 1st | Tarique Barnes | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 2nd | Isaiah Gay | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| LB | 3rd | Owen Carney Jr. | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 4th | Khalan Tolson | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| LB | 5th | Jake Hansen | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| LB | 6th | Seth Coleman | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| LB | 7th | Derrick Smith | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| LB | 8th | Alec McEachern | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 9th | Calvin Hart Jr. | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| LB | 10th | Isaac Darkangelo | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 11th | Ezekiel Holmes | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| LB | 12th | Sean Coghlan | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 13th | Luke Zardzin | SR | 6'0" | 225 | — |
Defensive Backs · 13
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DB | 1st | Sydney Brown | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 2nd | Tony Adams | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 3rd | Kerby Joseph | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 4th | Jartavius Martin | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 5th | Devon Witherspoon | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 6th | Prather Hudson | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 7th | Kendall Smith | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 8th | Tahveon Nicholson | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 9th | Christian Bobak | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 10th | Eddie Smith | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 11th | Tyler Strain | SR | 5'9" | 195 | ★★★ |
| DB | 12th | Tailon Leitzsey | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 13th | Joriell Washington | — | — | — | — |
Special Teams · 3
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1st | Blake Hayes | — | — | — | ★★ |
| PK | 1st | James McCourt | — | — | — | — |
| PK | — | Caleb Griffin | — | — | — | — |
2021 · pct vs FBS
SP+ Off
23.225
Off PPA
+0.1118
Pass PPA
+0.099
Rush PPA
+0.1454
Success
39%18
Explosive
1.158
PlayerMedian (50th)percentile vs league
SP+ Trend
points vs avg team
— Overall— Offense— Defense
SP+ = opponent-adjusted points vs an average team. Overall & Offense higher = better; Defense lower = better.
Advanced
2021 · opponent-adjusted PPA / play
| Split | Offense | Defense |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | +0.11 | +0.17 |
| Passing | +0.09 | +0.26 |
| Rushing | +0.14 | +0.13 |
| 1st Down | +0.03 | +0.09 |
| 2nd Down | +0.06 | +0.13 |
| 3rd Down | +0.36 | +0.38 |
Scoring Trend
2021 · pts/game
PPG For
20.2
PPG Against
21.9
Differential
-1.8
— Points for— Points against
dots: W / LResults
2021
- Overall
- 5-7
- Home
- 3-4
- Away
- 2-3
- Conference
- 4-5
- Non-Conference
- 1-2
- One-Score (≤8)
- 3-4
- Avg Margin
- -1.8
Situational Splits
2021 · record · pts
| Split | Record | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | |||
| Home | 3-4 | 23.1 | 21.6 |
| Away | 2-3 | 16.0 | 22.4 |
| Competition | |||
| vs Ranked (SP+ 25) | 2-1 | 11.3 | 16.0 |
| Conference | 4-5 | 19.3 | 18.9 |
| Non-conference | 1-2 | 22.7 | 31.0 |
Season History · last 12
1 AP top-10 · 5 postseason
| Season | Record | Conf | SP+ | AP | Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8-4 | 5-4 | #24 | #9 | 1-0 |
| 2024 | 9-3 | 6-3 | #31 | #16 | 1-0 |
| 2023 | 5-7 | 3-6 | #75 | — | — |
| 2022 | 8-4 | 5-4 | #17 | #14 | 0-1 |
| 2021 | 5-7 | 4-5 | #64 | — | — |
| 2020 | 2-6 | 2-6 | #90 | — | — |
| 2019 | 6-6 | 4-5 | #60 | — | 0-1 |
| 2018 | 4-8 | 2-7 | #97 | — | — |
| 2017 | 2-10 | 0-9 | #96 | — | — |
| 2016 | 3-9 | 2-7 | #94 | — | — |
| 2015 | 5-7 | 2-6 | #68 | — | — |
| 2014 | 6-6 | 3-5 | #68 | — | 0-1 |
Recent Form · last 5
3-2 SU · 4-1 ATS · O2/U3
Betting Profile
2021 · 12 w/ line
| Straight up | 5-7 |
| ATS | 7-4-164% |
| Over / Under | 3-8-1 O-U |
| — ATS splits — | |
| As favorite | 1-1 |
| As underdog | 6-3 |
| Home | 3-3 |
| Away | 4-1 |
vs closing line · splits show cover–no cover
Recruiting Classes
avg #57 · 13 blue-chip
■ 5★■ 4★■ 3★138 rated signees
| Class | Natl | Pts | 5★ | 4★ | 3★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #45 | 203 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 2024 | #49 | 199 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| 2023 | #38 | 206 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| 2022 | #46 | 193 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 2021 | #73 | 159 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2020 | #87 | 153 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2019 | #53 | 184 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 2018 | #54 | 186 | 0 | 2 | 21 |
| 2017 | #46 | 185 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 2016 | #73 | 154 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
247Sports composite · class rank vs all FBS
Roster Talent
talent #51
Returning prod 87%Departed 13%
Talent composite630.2 #51 / 224
Returning usage (pass / rush / rec)100 / 98 / 58
returning PPA · portal · talent composite · 2021
Injury Report · 0
No injuries reported.
Team News
8 items
- The 3 most critical games on Illinois’s 2026 football scheduleHow many games can Illinois win in 2026? We break down the 3 most-important matchups on the Illini's schedule.ILL22h
- EA Sports' 'College Football 27' Ratings Released: Who Is Illinois' Top-Rated Player?"College Football 27" ratings were released on Thursday, and the Illini were as curious to learn how they rated as their fans wereILL2d
- Illinois Football is nearly ready for the next step. Is everyone else?The Illini are being objectively underrated compared to their on-field performance.ILL3d
- Whitman reiterates preference for 24-team CFP fieldJun. 26—CHAMPAIGN — The debate continues in college football with no clear-cut indication which way it will go. At issue: How many teams should make the playoffs? The answer depends on who you ask. On Thursday during the annual Josh Whitman roundtable, I put the question to the decade-long Illinois athletic director. Knowing his bread is buttered in the Big Ten, Whitman went with the number ...ILL4d
- Bret Bielema stacking much-needed depth in the Illinois football secondaryIllinois football added another member to the class of 2027 on Tuesday, in hopes of building depth at a crucial position group.ILL7d
- Illinois Football Receive Commitment From 2027 Kicker Ulysses MoralesMorales, who committed to Illinois on Sunday, could enter a wide-open race to be the Illini's placekicker of the futureILL8d
- Illinois football shows recruiting masterclass in latest 2027 commitmentBret Bielema keeps the Illinois football recruiting train going with another commitment on Monday.ILL8d
- Decision time locked in for massive Illinois football recruiting targetIllinois football has been targeting numerous recruits, and on Monday, we will know a key decision for the future.ILL9d