CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2022 Illinois

8–⁠5 (5–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Bret Bielema.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 2022, game by game: won vs. Wyoming 38–6; lost at Indiana 20–23; won vs. Virginia 24–3; won vs. Chattanooga 31–0; won at Wisconsin 34–10; won vs. Iowa 9–6; won vs. Minnesota 26–14; won at Nebraska 26–9; lost vs. Michigan State 15–23; lost vs. Purdue 24–31; lost at No. 3 Michigan 17–19; won at Northwestern 41–3; lost vs. No. 24 Mississippi State 10–19+38−9Won 38–6 vs. Wyoming+32WyomingLost 20–23 at Indiana-3IndianaWon 24–3 vs. Virginia+21VirginiaWon 31–0 vs. Chattanooga+31ChattanoogaWon 34–10 at Wisconsin+24WisconsinWon 9–6 vs. Iowa+3IowaWon 26–14 vs. Minnesota+12MinnesotaWon 26–9 at Nebraska+17NebraskaLost 15–23 vs. Michigan State-8Michigan StateLost 24–31 vs. Purdue-7PurdueLost 17–19 at No. 3 Michigan-2No. 3 MichiganWon 41–3 at Northwestern+38NorthwesternLost 10–19 vs. No. 24 Mississippi State-9No. 24 Mississippi Sta…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 27vsWyomingW 38–⁠654%
Sep 2atIndianaL 20–⁠2353%
Sep 10vsVirginiaW 24–⁠356%
Sep 22vsChattanoogaW 31–⁠074%
Oct 1atWisconsinW 34–⁠1034%
Oct 8vsIowaW 9–⁠654%
Oct 15vsMinnesotaW 26–⁠1454%
Oct 29atNebraskaW 26–⁠964%
Nov 5vsMichigan StateL 15–⁠2371%
Nov 12vsPurdueL 24–⁠3165%
Nov 19at3MichiganL 17–⁠1918%
Nov 26atNorthwesternW 41–⁠376%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs24Mississippi StateReliaQuest BowlL 10–⁠1948%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Mississippi State 19–⁠10 in the ReliaQuest Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 46th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 24
  2. Wk 8: 18
  3. Wk 9: 17
  4. Wk 10: 14
  5. Wk 11: 21

Consensus All-AmericanDevon Witherspoon, DB

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 14
Points
315–⁠166
Coach
Bret Bielema
Elo
1563 +90 this season
SP+ rating
15.9 No. 17 of 131; offense No. 98, defense No. 3, special teams No. 35
SRS
11.7 No. 18 of 131 in FBS
Returning
55% of last season’s EPA, No. 74 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 46 roster talent No. 56 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Barry Lunney Jr.
Defensive coordinator
Ryan Walters
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense70th of 131
  • Defense1st of 131
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted59th of 131
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted3rd of 131
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0944%1.0170th of 131
Defense-0.1233%1.281st of 131
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
-0.06 def		45% off
33% def		—59th off
3rd 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
Offense3.4own 3013% allowed
Defense2.2own 2822% caused

CORE rating 10.3, 23rd of 131 (offense -0.2, defense -10.5).

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 yardsTommy DeVito QB2,619 yds
Passing touchdownsTommy DeVito QB15 TD
Rushing yardsChase Brown RB1,643 yds
Rushing touchdownsChase Brown RB10 TD
Receiving yardsIsaiah Williams WR709 yds
Receiving touchdownsIsaiah Williams WR5 TD
TacklesIsaac Darkangelo LB67 tkl
SacksJer’Zhan Newton DL5 sacks
InterceptionsSydney Brown DB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2022 class

Aidan Laughery ATH★★★No. 651
Jared Badie LB★★★No. 664
Elijah Mc-Cantos CB★★★No. 690
Shawn Miller WR★★★No. 709
Eian Pugh WR★★★No. 766

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

The 2022 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.851
Running backs13.00.859
Receivers73.00.854
Offensive line53.00.855
Defensive line22.50.795
Linebackers33.00.854
Defensive backs43.00.847
Athletes and specialists23.00.863
Whole class253.00.849

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 2023

The 2023 draft
Rd 1Devon Witherspoon CBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 2Jartavius Martin SWashington Commanders
Rd 3Sydney Brown SPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 5Chase Brown RBCincinnati Bengals

Roster 117

The 2022 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2022 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 8

The 2022 portal
Raashaan Wilkins DL★★★from Vanderbilt
Te-Rah Edwards DL★★★from Northwestern
Tommy DeVito QB★★★from Syracuse
Jonah Morris WR★★★from Northern Colorado
Solo Turner S★★★from Hawai’i
Dylan Davis OTfrom Furman
Kody Case WRfrom South Dakota
Terrell Jennings CBfrom Minnesota State

Transfers out 23

Daniel Barker TE★★★★to Michigan State
Carlos Sandy WR★★★no new school on file
Jakari Norwood RB★★★to Temple
Deuce Spann WR★★★to Florida State
Eddie Smith S★★★to Arkansas State
Marquez Beason CB★★★to Alabama A&M
Derrick Smith S★★★to Western Kentucky
Brody Wisecarver OT★★★to Tulsa
Coran Taylor S★★★to Alabama A&M
D.J. Johnson OLB★★★to Louisiana Tech
Dalevon Campbell WR★★★to Nevada
Jafar Armstrong WR★★★to Western Illinois

And 11 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2022 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2022 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan9–⁠013–⁠13
Ohio State8–⁠111–⁠24
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠27
Purdue6–⁠38–⁠6
Minnesota5–⁠49–⁠4
Iowa5–⁠48–⁠5
Illinois5–⁠48–⁠5
Maryland4–⁠58–⁠5
Wisconsin4–⁠57–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠65–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Indiana2–⁠74–⁠8
Rutgers1–⁠84–⁠8
Northwestern1–⁠81–⁠11

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