CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2025 Illinois

9–⁠4 (5–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Bret Bielema.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 2025, game by game: won vs. Western Illinois 52–3; won at Duke 45–19; won vs. Western Michigan 38–0; lost at No. 19 Indiana 10–63; won vs. No. 21 USC 34–32; won at Purdue 43–27; lost vs. No. 1 Ohio State 16–34; lost at Washington 25–42; won vs. Rutgers 35–13; won vs. Maryland 24–6; lost at Wisconsin 10–27; won vs. Northwestern 20–13; won vs. Tennessee 30–28+49−53Won 52–3 vs. Western Illinois+49Western IllinoisWon 45–19 at Duke+26DukeWon 38–0 vs. Western Michigan+38Western MichiganLost 10–63 at No. 19 Indiana-53No. 19 IndianaWon 34–32 vs. No. 21 USC+2No. 21 USCWon 43–27 at Purdue+16PurdueLost 16–34 vs. No. 1 Ohio State-18No. 1 Ohio StateLost 25–42 at Washington-17WashingtonWon 35–13 vs. Rutgers+22RutgersWon 24–6 vs. Maryland+18MarylandLost 10–27 at Wisconsin-17WisconsinWon 20–13 vs. Northwestern+7NorthwesternWon 30–28 vs. Tennessee+2Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsWestern IllinoisW 52–⁠392%
Sep 6atDukeW 45–⁠1943%
Sep 13vsWestern MichiganW 38–⁠083%
Sep 20at19IndianaL 10–⁠6343%
Sep 27vs21USCW 34–⁠3253%
Oct 4atPurdueW 43–⁠2770%
Oct 11vs1Ohio StateL 16–⁠3432%
Oct 25atWashingtonL 25–⁠4240%
Nov 1vsRutgersW 35–⁠1369%
Nov 15vsMarylandW 24–⁠675%
Nov 22atWisconsinL 10–⁠2766%
Nov 29vsNorthwesternW 20–⁠1368%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsTennesseeMusic City BowlW 30–⁠2844%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Tennessee 30–⁠28 in the Music City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 12
  2. Wk 2: 11
  3. Wk 3: 9
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 5: 23
  6. Wk 6: 22
  7. Wk 7: 17
  8. Wk 9: 23
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 7th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 9
Points
382–⁠307
Coach
Bret Bielema
Elo
1605 +24 this season
SP+ rating
12.9 No. 24 of 136; offense No. 27, defense No. 41, special teams No. 25
SRS
12.3 No. 21 of 136 in FBS
Returning
53% of last season’s EPA, No. 37 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 45 roster talent No. 64 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

  • Offense43rd of 136
  • Defense110th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted38th of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted76th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1347%1.1643rd of 136
Defense0.1746%1.16110th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.15 off
0.11 def		47% off
43% def		—38th off
76th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense52%8.2 yds11%3.2017%
Defense51%7.6 yds7%3.2014%
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.2own 3016% allowed
Defense4.3own 2815% caused

CORE rating 7.5, 43rd of 136 (offense 8.6, defense 1.1).

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 QB3,007 yds
Passing touchdownsLuke Altmyer QB22 TD
Rushing yardsCa’Lil Valentine RB614 yds
Rushing touchdownsKaden Feagin TE7 TD
Receiving yardsHank Beatty WR864 yds
Receiving touchdownsCollin Dixon WR5 TD
TacklesMatthew Bailey DB76 tkl
SacksGabe Jacas LB11 sacks
InterceptionsMiles Scott DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Grant Beerman LB★★★★No. 425
Brayden Trimble WR★★★No. 514
John Forster RB★★★No. 581
Cedric Wyche II RB★★★No. 665
Logan Farrell TE★★★No. 706

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

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.874
Running backs23.00.881
Receivers33.00.872
Offensive line43.00.856
Defensive line33.00.868
Linebackers23.50.872
Defensive backs53.00.865
Athletes and specialists13.00.876
Whole class213.00.868

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 2026

The 2026 draft
Rd 2Gabe Jacas DENew England Patriots
Rd 6J.C. Davis OTNew York Giants
Rd 7Miles Scott SDenver Broncos

Roster 118

The 2025 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 18

The 2025 portal
James Thompson Jr. DL★★★★from Wisconsin
Ayden Knapik OT★★★from Idaho
Justin Bowick WR★★★from Ball State
Leon Lowery DE★★★from Wisconsin
Tomiwa Durojaiye DL★★★from Florida State
Eli Coenen DL★★★from Bemidji State
Ethan Hampton QB★★★from Northern Illinois
Hudson Clement WR★★★from West Virginia
Tyler McMillan OT★★★from Southeast Missouri State
Carter Hewitt DL★★★from Northern Iowa
Christian Abney TE★★★from Ball State
Davin Stoffel TE★★★from South Dakota State

And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 24

Joshua McCray RB★★★to Georgia
Zylon Crisler OL★★★to Colorado
Kevin Wigenton II OL★★★to Virginia
Henry Boyer TE★★★to Kentucky
Alex Bray DL★★★to Kansas
Carlos Orr-Gillespie WR★★★to Utah State
Donovan Leary QB★★★to Tulane
Chase Canada CB★★★to North Texas
Zach Aamland OT★★★to Rutgers
Joep Engbers OL★★to Liberty
Steven Scott III OT★★to Fresno State
Cal Swanson QB★★★to Holy Cross

And 12 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big Ten

2 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 2025 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2025 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Indiana9–⁠016–⁠01
Ohio State9–⁠012–⁠25
Oregon8–⁠113–⁠24
Michigan7–⁠29–⁠421
USC7–⁠29–⁠420
Iowa6–⁠39–⁠417
Illinois5–⁠49–⁠4
Washington5–⁠49–⁠4
Minnesota5–⁠48–⁠5
Nebraska4–⁠57–⁠6
Northwestern4–⁠57–⁠6
Penn State3–⁠67–⁠6
UCLA3–⁠63–⁠9
Rutgers2–⁠75–⁠7
Wisconsin2–⁠74–⁠8
Michigan State1–⁠84–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠84–⁠8
Purdue0–⁠92–⁠10

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