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2013 Illinois

4–⁠8 (1–⁠7 Big Ten), coached by Tim Beckman.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 2013, game by game: won vs. Southern Illinois 42–34; won vs. Cincinnati 45–17; lost vs. No. 19 Washington 24–34; won vs. Miami (OH) 50–14; lost at Nebraska 19–39; lost vs. No. 25 Wisconsin 32–56; lost vs. Michigan State 3–42; lost at Penn State 17–24; lost at Indiana 35–52; lost vs. No. 3 Ohio State 35–60; won at Purdue 20–16; lost vs. Northwestern 34–37+36−39Won 42–34 vs. Southern Illinois+8Southern Illino…Won 45–17 vs. Cincinnati+28CincinnatiLost 24–34 vs. No. 19 Washington-10No. 19 WashingtonWon 50–14 vs. Miami (OH)+36Miami (OH)Lost 19–39 at Nebraska-20NebraskaLost 32–56 vs. No. 25 Wisconsin-24No. 25 WisconsinLost 3–42 vs. Michigan State-39Michigan StateLost 17–24 at Penn State-7Penn StateLost 35–52 at Indiana-17IndianaLost 35–60 vs. No. 3 Ohio State-25No. 3 Ohio StateWon 20–16 at Purdue+4PurdueLost 34–37 vs. Northwestern-3Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsSouthern IllinoisW 42–⁠3464%
Sep 7vsCincinnatiW 45–⁠1728%
Sep 14vs19WashingtonL 24–⁠3440%
Sep 28vsMiami (OH)W 50–⁠1470%
Oct 5atNebraskaL 19–⁠3925%
Oct 19vs25WisconsinL 32–⁠5629%
Oct 26vsMichigan StateL 3–⁠4227%
Nov 2atPenn StateL 17–⁠2420%
Nov 9atIndianaL 35–⁠5234%
Nov 16vs3Ohio StateL 35–⁠6012%
Nov 23atPurdueW 20–⁠1645%
Nov 30vsNorthwesternL 34–⁠3742%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 37–⁠34; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 117th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
1–⁠7 tied for 10th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
356–⁠425
Coach
Tim Beckman
Elo
1377 −8 this season
SP+ rating
-4.0 No. 79 of 125; offense No. 38, defense No. 102, special teams No. 102
SRS
−3.5 No. 76 of 125 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 51
Offensive coordinator
Bill Cubit
Defensive coordinator
Tim Banks
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense42nd of 125
  • Defense111th of 125
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted40th of 125
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted116th of 125
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1146%0.9342nd of 125
Defense0.1549%0.88111th of 125
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
0.13 def		45% off
47% def		—40th off
116th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 262% allowed
Defense-0.1own 302% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsNathan Scheelhaase QB3,272 yds
Passing touchdownsNathan Scheelhaase QB21 TD
Rushing yardsJosh Ferguson RB779 yds
Rushing touchdownsJosh Ferguson RB7 TD
Receiving yardsSteve Hull WR993 yds
Receiving touchdownsSteve Hull WR7 TD
InterceptionsJonathan Brown LB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2013 class

Aaron Bailey DUAL★★★★No. 160
Paul James III WDE★★★No. 406
Caleb Day ATH★★★No. 451
Darius Mosely CB★★★No. 468
Merrick Jackson DT★★★No. 817

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2013 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.931
Running backs13.00.825
Receivers42.80.819
Offensive line13.00.824
Defensive line43.00.842
Defensive backs53.00.830
Athletes and specialists23.00.857
Whole class183.00.838

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 115

The 2013 roster

115 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2013 line; 28 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

2 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2013 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2013 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan State8–⁠013–⁠13
Ohio State8–⁠012–⁠212
Wisconsin6–⁠29–⁠422
Nebraska5–⁠39–⁠4
Iowa5–⁠38–⁠5
Minnesota4–⁠48–⁠5
Penn State4–⁠47–⁠5
Michigan3–⁠57–⁠6
Indiana3–⁠55–⁠7
Northwestern1–⁠75–⁠7
Illinois1–⁠74–⁠8
Purdue0–⁠81–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.