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2019 Illinois

6–⁠7 (4–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Lovie Smith.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 2019, game by game: won vs. Akron 42–3; won at UConn 31–23; lost vs. Eastern Michigan 31–34; lost vs. Nebraska 38–42; lost at Minnesota 17–40; lost vs. No. 16 Michigan 25–42; won vs. No. 6 Wisconsin 24–23; won at Purdue 24–6; won vs. Rutgers 38–10; won at Michigan State 37–34; lost at No. 19 Iowa 10–19; lost vs. Northwestern 10–29; lost vs. California 20–35+39−23Won 42–3 vs. Akron+39AkronWon 31–23 at UConn+8UConnLost 31–34 vs. Eastern Michigan-3Eastern MichiganLost 38–42 vs. Nebraska-4NebraskaLost 17–40 at Minnesota-23MinnesotaLost 25–42 vs. No. 16 Michigan-17No. 16 MichiganWon 24–23 vs. No. 6 Wisconsin+1No. 6 WisconsinWon 24–6 at Purdue+18PurdueWon 38–10 vs. Rutgers+28RutgersWon 37–34 at Michigan State+3Michigan StateLost 10–19 at No. 19 Iowa-9No. 19 IowaLost 10–29 vs. Northwestern-19NorthwesternLost 20–35 vs. California-15California
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsAkronW 42–⁠361%
Sep 7atUConnW 31–⁠2358%
Sep 14vsEastern MichiganL 31–⁠3452%
Sep 21vsNebraskaL 38–⁠4247%
Oct 5atMinnesotaL 17–⁠4021%
Oct 12vs16MichiganL 25–⁠4226%
Oct 19vs6WisconsinW 24–⁠2319%
Oct 26atPurdueW 24–⁠631%
Nov 2vsRutgersW 38–⁠1074%
Nov 9atMichigan StateW 37–⁠3429%
Nov 23at19IowaL 10–⁠1921%
Nov 30vsNorthwesternL 10–⁠2963%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsCaliforniaRedbox BowlL 20–⁠3538%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to California 35–⁠20 in the Redbox Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 104th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠5 tied for 8th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
347–⁠340
Coach
Lovie Smith
Elo
1423 +16 this season
SP+ rating
0.6 No. 60 of 130; offense No. 91, defense No. 53, special teams No. 7
SRS
−1.4 No. 69 of 130 in FBS
Returning
63% of last season’s EPA, No. 61 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 53 roster talent No. 37 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Rod Smith
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense101st of 130
  • Defense29th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted103rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted37th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0338%1.25101st of 130
Defense0.0242%1.1229th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
0.06 def		39% off
43% def		—103rd off
37th 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
Offense3.5own 3025% allowed
Defense3.6own 2820% caused

CORE rating -3.7, 82nd of 130 (offense -5.5, defense -1.8).

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 yardsBrandon Peters QB1,884 yds
Passing touchdownsBrandon Peters QB18 TD
Rushing yardsReggie Corbin RB675 yds
Rushing touchdownsReggie Corbin RB7 TD
Receiving yardsJosh Imatorbhebhe WR634 yds
Receiving touchdownsJosh Imatorbhebhe WR9 TD
TacklesDele Harding LB153 tkl
SacksOluwole Betiku Jr. OLB9 sacks
InterceptionsDele Harding LB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Marquez Beason ATH★★★★No. 99
Isaiah Williams ATH★★★★No. 116
Shammond Cooper ILB★★★★No. 300
Moses Okpala SDE★★★No. 533
Keith Randolph Jr. SDE★★★No. 672

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.850
Receivers33.00.838
Offensive line23.00.819
Defensive line33.00.873
Linebackers23.50.873
Defensive backs13.00.849
Athletes and specialists24.00.952
Whole class153.20.865

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 107

The 2019 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

2 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 2019 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2019 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State9–⁠013–⁠13
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠29
Minnesota7–⁠211–⁠210
Wisconsin7–⁠210–⁠411
Iowa6–⁠310–⁠315
Michigan6–⁠39–⁠418
Indiana5–⁠48–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠56–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠65–⁠7
Purdue3–⁠64–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠83–⁠9
Northwestern1–⁠83–⁠9
Rutgers0–⁠92–⁠10

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