2021 Illinois
5–7 (4–5 Big Ten), coached by Bret Bielema. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 7 Penn State 20–18Oct 23
Penn State was ranked No. 7 and favored to win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28 | vs Nebraska | W 30–22 | 52% |
| Sep 4 | vs UTSA | L 30–37 | 58% |
| Sep 11 | at Virginia | L 14–42 | 30% |
| Sep 17 | vs Maryland | L 17–20 | 49% |
| Sep 25 | at Purdue | L 9–13 | 32% |
| Oct 2 | vs Charlotte | W 24–14 | 49% |
| Oct 9 | vs Wisconsin | L 0–24 | 41% |
| Oct 23 | at 7Penn State | W 20–18 | 14% |
| Oct 30 | vs Rutgers | L 14–20 | 56% |
| Nov 6 | at Minnesota | W 14–6 | 16% |
| Nov 20 | at 18Iowa | L 23–33 | 16% |
| Nov 27 | vs Northwestern | W 47–14 | 58% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Northwestern 47–14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 91st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).
- Record
- 5–7
- Conference
- 4–5 tied for 8th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 242–263
- Coach
- Bret Bielema
- Elo
- 1459 +18 this season
- SP+ rating
- 4.3 No. 64 of 130; offense No. 98, defense No. 32
- SRS
- 1.6 No. 64 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 91% of last season’s EPA, No. 22 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 73 roster talent No. 51 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Tony Petersen
- Defensive coordinator
- Ryan Walters
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.07 | 38% | 1.22 | 93rd of 130 |
| Defense | 0.15 | 44% | 1.08 | 78th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.10 off 0.15 def | 39% off 43% def | — | 92nd 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.3 | own 28 | 16% allowed |
| Defense | 3.3 | own 26 | 15% caused |
CORE rating -7.0, 93rd of 130 (offense -3.4, defense 3.6).
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 yards | Brandon Peters QB | 1,170 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Brandon Peters QB | 7 TD |
| Rushing yards | Chase Brown RB | 1,005 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Chase Brown RB | 5 TD |
| Receiving yards | Isaiah Williams WR | 525 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Daniel Barker TE | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Tarique Barnes LB | 80 tkl |
| Sacks | Owen Carney Jr. LB | 6 sacks |
| Interceptions | Kerby Joseph DB | 5 INT |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Brody Wisecarver OL | ★★★ | No. 480 |
| Samari Collier QB | ★★★ | No. 1017 |
| Daniel Edwards Jr. CB | ★★★ | No. 1017 |
| Josh Kreutz OL | ★★★ | No. 1031 |
| Pat Bryant WR | ★★★ | No. 1031 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.856 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.843 |
| Receivers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.856 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.848 |
| Defensive line | 1 | 3.0 | 0.850 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.833 |
| Defensive backs | 6 | 3.0 | 0.845 |
| Whole class | 17 | 3.0 | 0.845 |
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.
Drafted in 2022
The 2022 draft| Rd 3 | Kerby Joseph S | Detroit Lions |
| Rd 6 | Vederian Lowe OT | Minnesota Vikings |
| Rd 6 | Doug Kramer C | Chicago Bears |
Roster 114
The 2021 roster114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 9
The 2021 portal Jafar Armstrong WR | ★★★ | from  Notre Dame |
 Eddie Smith S | ★★★ | from  Alabama |
 C.J. Hart OLB | ★★★ | from  NC State |
 Chase Hayden RB | ★★★ | from  East Carolina |
 Alec Bryant DE | ★★★★ | from  Virginia Tech |
| Artur Sitkowski QB | ★★★ | from  Rutgers |
 Jack Badovinac OL | from  Colgate | |
 Max Rosenthal RB | from  Michigan State | |
 Prather Hudson S | from  Georgia |
Transfers out 17
 Daniel Imatorbhebhe TE | ★★★ | to  Kansas State |
| Casey Washington WR | ★★★ | to  Wake Forest |
| Trevon Sidney WR | ★★★★ | to  San José State |
| Anthony Shipton DL | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Blaise Sparks OT | ★★★ | to  Delaware |
| Brevyn Jones OT | ★★★ | to  Jacksonville State |
| Delano Ware S | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Edwin Carter WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| James Frenchie Jr. WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Kenyon Sims RB | ★★★ | to San José State |
| Kevin Tyler OT | ★★★ | to  Prairie View A&M |
| Kyron Cumby RB | ★★★ | to  Texas Tech |
And 5 more, lower-rated or unrated.
All-Big Ten
1 first team, 1 second teamFirst team
- Kerby JosephDBCoaches-2; Media-1
Second team
- Doug KramerCCoaches-2
From Wikipedia’s 2021 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2021 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Michigan | 8–1 | 12–2 | 3 |
 Ohio State | 8–1 | 11–2 | 6 |
| Michigan State | 7–2 | 11–2 | 9 |
| Iowa | 7–2 | 10–4 | 23 |
| Wisconsin | 6–3 | 9–4 | |
| Minnesota | 6–3 | 9–4 | |
| Purdue | 6–3 | 9–4 | |
| Penn State | 4–5 | 7–6 | |
| Illinois | 4–5 | 5–7 | |
| Maryland | 3–6 | 7–6 | |
| Rutgers | 2–7 | 5–8 | |
| Northwestern | 1–8 | 3–9 | |
| Nebraska | 1–8 | 3–9 | |
 Indiana | 0–9 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.