CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Illinois

2–⁠10 (0–⁠9 Big Ten), coached by Lovie Smith.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 2017, game by game: won vs. Ball State 24–21; won vs. Western Kentucky 20–7; lost at No. 22 South Florida 23–47; lost vs. Nebraska 6–28; lost at Iowa 16–45; lost vs. Rutgers 24–35; lost at Minnesota 17–24; lost vs. No. 5 Wisconsin 10–24; lost at Purdue 10–29; lost vs. Indiana 14–24; lost at No. 8 Ohio State 14–52; lost vs. No. 23 Northwestern 7–42+13−38Won 24–21 vs. Ball State+3Ball StateWon 20–7 vs. Western Kentucky+13Western KentuckyLost 23–47 at No. 22 South Florida-24No. 22 South FloridaLost 6–28 vs. Nebraska-22NebraskaLost 16–45 at Iowa-29IowaLost 24–35 vs. Rutgers-11RutgersLost 17–24 at Minnesota-7MinnesotaLost 10–24 vs. No. 5 Wisconsin-14No. 5 WisconsinLost 10–29 at Purdue-19PurdueLost 14–24 vs. Indiana-10IndianaLost 14–52 at No. 8 Ohio State-38No. 8 Ohio StateLost 7–42 vs. No. 23 Northwestern-35No. 23 Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsBall StateW 24–⁠2159%
Sep 9vsWestern KentuckyW 20–⁠728%
Sep 15at22South FloridaL 23–⁠4722%
Sep 29vsNebraskaL 6–⁠2845%
Oct 7atIowaL 16–⁠4524%
Oct 14vsRutgersL 24–⁠3566%
Oct 21atMinnesotaL 17–⁠2423%
Oct 28vs5WisconsinL 10–⁠2413%
Nov 4atPurdueL 10–⁠2930%
Nov 11vsIndianaL 14–⁠2440%
Nov 18at8Ohio StateL 14–⁠527%
Nov 25vs23NorthwesternL 7–⁠4218%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 42–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; 14th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 130th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
2–⁠10
Conference
0–⁠9 14th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
185–⁠378
Coach
Lovie Smith
Elo
1314 −105 this season
SP+ rating
-7.4 No. 96 of 128; offense No. 107, defense No. 81, special teams No. 30
SRS
−10.3 No. 101 of 130 in FBS
Returning
51% of last season’s EPA, No. 87 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 46 roster talent No. 64 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Garrick McGee
Defensive coordinator
Hardy Nickerson
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense125th of 130
  • Defense80th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted124th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted84th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0937%1.18125th of 130
Defense0.1246%1.0380th of 130
Opponent-adjusted-0.03 off
0.12 def		39% off
46% def		—124th off
84th 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
Offense2.5own 3124% allowed
Defense3.7own 3314% caused

CORE rating -13.6, 113th of 130 (offense -9.1, defense 4.5).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJeff George Jr. QB1,273 yds
Passing touchdownsJeff George Jr. QB7 TD
Rushing yardsMike Epstein RB346 yds
Rushing touchdownsRa’Von Bonner RB4 TD
Receiving yardsRicky Smalling WR510 yds
Receiving touchdownsLouis Dorsey TE3 TD
TacklesDel’Shawn Phillips LB85 tkl
SacksBobby Roundtree DL4 sacks
InterceptionsBennett Williams DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Ricky Smalling WR★★★No. 354
Kendrick Green DT★★★No. 407
Larry Boyd OG★★★No. 450
Owen Carney WDE★★★No. 486
Carmoni Green WR★★★No. 512

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.838
Running backs23.00.840
Receivers53.00.861
Offensive line43.00.848
Defensive line73.00.841
Linebackers13.00.827
Defensive backs33.00.817
Athletes and specialists22.50.776
Whole class253.00.837

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 102

The 2017 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin9–⁠013–⁠17
Ohio State8–⁠112–⁠25
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠28
Northwestern7–⁠210–⁠317
Michigan State7–⁠210–⁠315
Michigan5–⁠48–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠58–⁠5
Purdue4–⁠57–⁠6
Rutgers3–⁠64–⁠8
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Minnesota2–⁠75–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Maryland2–⁠74–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠92–⁠10

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