California vs. Illinois
California and Illinois have 11 meetings on file, the first in 1955; Illinois leads the series 7–4 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Illinois 6–4, and California has won the last 3. Share
- California wins
- 4
- Illinois wins
- 7
- Ties
- 0
- Earliest on file
- 1955
- Longest streak
- 5 Illinois
- Current streak
- 3 California
- Last 10 meetings
- Illinois 6–4
- Most recent
- 2019
The series at a glance
| ’0 | ’1 | ’2 | ’3 | ’4 | ’5 | ’6 | ’7 | ’8 | ’9 | W–L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0–2 | ||||||||||
| 1960s | 0–2 | ||||||||||
| 1970s | 1–1 | ||||||||||
| 2000s | 2–2 | ||||||||||
| 2010s | 1–0 |
- Average margin
- 12.5 points; 4 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
- At California
- 1–4 California’s record at home
- At Illinois
- 3–2 Illinois’s record at home
- Neutral sites
- 1–0 California first
- Shutouts
- 1
Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.
Games that tell the story
- California’s biggest win1974: California 31, Illinois 14by 17 points
- Illinois’s biggest win2001: Illinois 44, California 17by 27 points
- Upset1974: California 31, Illinois 14California had a 32% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
Both programs through the years
Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.
Stars of the series
Named most valuable
| Chase Garbers California | 2019 |
| Zeandae Johnson California | 2019 |
Most valuable: as the games’ Wikipedia articles name them (CC BY-SA).
Every game
| Dec 30, 2019 | California 35, Illinois 20 | Levi’s Stadium | Redbox Bowl | |
| Sep 17, 2005 | 15California 35, Illinois 20 | at California | ||
| Sep 20, 2003 | California 31, Illinois 24 | at Illinois | ||
| Sep 1, 2001 | Illinois 44, California 17 | at California | ||
| Sep 16, 2000 | 19Illinois 17, California 15 | at Illinois | ||
| Oct 5, 1974 | California 31, 14Illinois 14 | at Illinois | ||
| Sep 22, 1973 | Illinois 27, California 7 | at California | ||
| Sep 26, 1964 | 3Illinois 20, California 14 | at California | ||
| Sep 28, 1963 | Illinois 10, California 0 | at Illinois | ||
| Sep 29, 1956 | Illinois 32, California 20 | at Illinois | ||
| Sep 24, 1955 | Illinois 20, California 13 | at California |
Every game is listed as played on the field.