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2024 Illinois

10–⁠3 (6–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Bret Bielema, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 2024, game by game: won vs. Eastern Illinois 45–0; won vs. No. 19 Kansas 23–17; won vs. Central Michigan 30–9; won at No. 22 Nebraska 31–24; lost at No. 9 Penn State 7–21; won vs. Purdue 50–49; won vs. No. 24 Michigan 21–7; lost at No. 1 Oregon 9–38; lost vs. Minnesota 17–25; won vs. Michigan State 38–16; won at Rutgers 38–31; won vs. Northwestern 38–28; won vs. No. 14 South Carolina 21–17+45−29Won 45–0 vs. Eastern Illinois+45Eastern IllinoisWon 23–17 vs. No. 19 Kansas+6No. 19 KansasWon 30–9 vs. Central Michigan+21Central MichiganWon 31–24 at No. 22 Nebraska+7No. 22 NebraskaLost 7–21 at No. 9 Penn State-14No. 9 Penn StateWon 50–49 vs. Purdue+1PurdueWon 21–7 vs. No. 24 Michigan+14No. 24 MichiganLost 9–38 at No. 1 Oregon-29No. 1 OregonLost 17–25 vs. Minnesota-8MinnesotaWon 38–16 vs. Michigan State+22Michigan StateWon 38–31 at Rutgers+7RutgersWon 38–28 vs. Northwestern+10NorthwesternWon 21–17 vs. No. 14 South Carolina+4No. 14 South Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsEastern IllinoisW 45–⁠079%
Sep 7vs19KansasW 23–⁠1745%
Sep 14vsCentral MichiganW 30–⁠973%
Sep 20at22NebraskaW 31–⁠2442%
Sep 28at9Penn StateL 7–⁠2126%
Oct 12vsPurdueW 50–⁠4975%
Oct 19vs24MichiganW 21–⁠733%
Oct 26at1OregonL 9–⁠3819%
Nov 2vsMinnesotaL 17–⁠2558%
Nov 16vsMichigan StateW 38–⁠1667%
Nov 23atRutgersW 38–⁠3149%
Nov 30vsNorthwesternW 38–⁠2864%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs14South CarolinaCitrus BowlW 21–⁠1739%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat South Carolina 21–⁠17 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 24
  2. Wk 5: 19
  3. Wk 6: 24
  4. Wk 7: 23
  5. Wk 8: 22
  6. Wk 9: 20
  7. Wk 10: 24
  8. Wk 13: 24
  9. Wk 14: 22
  10. Wk 15: 21
  11. Wk 16: 21
  12. Final: 16
Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 16
Points
368–⁠282
Coach
Bret Bielema
Elo
1622 +146 this season
SP+ rating
9.6 No. 31 of 134; offense No. 55, defense No. 26, special teams No. 21
SRS
8.8 No. 34 of 134 in FBS
Returning
45% of last season’s EPA, No. 70 of 133
Recruiting class
No. 49 roster talent No. 63 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Barry Lunney Jr.
Defensive coordinators
Aaron Henry and Terrance Jamison
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple 3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense27th of 134
  • Defense85th of 134
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted31st of 134
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted76th of 134
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1944%1.3027th of 134
Defense0.1447%1.1085th of 134
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.12 def		45% off
46% def		—31st off
76th 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
Offense4.2own 3018% allowed
Defense3.5own 2813% caused

CORE rating 5.3, 48th of 134 (offense 9.1, defense 3.8).

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 yardsLuke Altmyer QB2,717 yds
Passing touchdownsLuke Altmyer QB22 TD
Rushing yardsJoshua McCray RB609 yds
Rushing touchdownsJoshua McCray RB10 TD
Receiving yardsPatrick Bryant WR978 yds
Receiving touchdownsPatrick Bryant WR10 TD
TacklesMatthew Bailey DB94 tkl
SacksGabe Jacas LB8 sacks
InterceptionsXavier Scott DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2024 class

Andrew Dennis OL★★★★No. 267
Ca’Lil Valentine RB★★★★No. 409
Tysean Griffin ATH★★★No. 530
Eddie Tuerk DL★★★No. 571
Trey Petty QB★★★No. 784

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

The 2024 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.874
Running backs14.00.895
Receivers23.00.855
Offensive line43.00.848
Defensive line52.80.847
Linebackers13.00.857
Defensive backs33.00.856
Athletes and specialists13.00.887
Whole class183.00.856

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 2025

The 2025 draft
Rd 3Pat Bryant WRDenver Broncos

Roster 118

The 2024 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2024 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 12

The 2024 portal
Terrance Brooks CB★★★★from Texas
Cole Rusk TE★★★★from Murray State
J.C. Davis OT★★★★from New Mexico
Kevin Wigenton II OL★★★from Michigan State
Zakhari Franklin WR★★★from Ole Miss
Dennis Briggs Jr. DL★★★from Florida State
Enyce Sledge DL★★★from Auburn
Melvin Priestly OT★★★from Grambling
Torrie Cox Jr. CB★★★from Ohio
Carson Goda TE★★★from Saint Anselm
Gentle Hunt DL★★★from Florida A&M
Ethan Moczulski K★★★from Texas A&M

Transfers out 24

Andrew Dennis OL★★★★to Michigan State
Reggie Love III RB★★★to Purdue
Tahveon Nicholson CB★★★to Louisville
Sedarius McConnell DL★★★to Boston College
Calvin Smith DE★★★to Purdue
Anthony Johnson DL★★★to Pittsburgh
Elijah Mc-Cantos CB★★★to App State
Jared Badie DE★★★to San Diego State
Shawn Miller WR★★★to New Mexico
Will Leys OL★★★to San José State
Zach Barlev OL★★★to Old Dominion
Christian Lorenzo DL★★★to Georgia State

And 12 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2024 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2024 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oregon9–⁠013–⁠13
Indiana8–⁠111–⁠210
Penn State8–⁠113–⁠35
Ohio State7–⁠214–⁠21
Illinois6–⁠310–⁠316
Iowa6–⁠38–⁠5
Michigan5–⁠48–⁠5
Minnesota5–⁠48–⁠5
USC4–⁠57–⁠6
Rutgers4–⁠57–⁠6
Washington4–⁠56–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠67–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠65–⁠7
Wisconsin3–⁠65–⁠7
UCLA3–⁠65–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠74–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠84–⁠8
Purdue0–⁠91–⁠11

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