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Illinois head coach Bret Bielema suggested Monday a trio of former four-star signees (Eddie Tuerk, Kai Pritchard and Champ Smith) could replace McMillen at guard.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 14, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN — TJ McMillen’s 2026 season is over after suffering a foot injury late in the loss to Duke last weekend.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed the news, which is the first season-ending injury following the start of this regular season, that the fourth-year offensive lineman will need a surgical procedure to fix the fracture in his foot.

“We’re going to lose him for the rest of the year,” Bielema said Monday in his weekly media conference inside Gies Memorial Stadium. “Couldn’t be prouder of that kid. He’s a tough kid that has been impressive as soon as he popped into the Purdue game as a first-time starter last season.”

McMillen played 62 snaps until he suffered an injury with 10 minutes and 20 seconds left in what would eventually turn into a 31-27 loss to Duke last weekend. After McMillen hobbled into the injury tent and had his helmet taken away from him by the Illinois training staff, 23-year-old Dezmond Schuster subbed into the game for the final 11 snaps of action.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer There’s an […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 14, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Kedric Prince/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Saturday’s home football game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Duke Blue Devils provided several recruits an opportunity to experience game day in Champaign. For some, it was their first look at Illinois on a game day, while others returned after making previous visits.

For Zimbalist Griffin Jr., it was his first opportunity to take in the atmosphere at Illinois.

Griffin, a 5-foot-10 running back from Dyett High School in the Chicago area, made the trip to Champaign to experience his first Illinois game day. The 2028 prospect has already begun making college visits and attending camps as his recruitment develops.

IlliniGuys.com beat writer Matthew Stevens assesses the categories and overall aspect of the Illini’s home loss to Duke.

September 13, 2026

CHAMPAIGN — Long before he reached the podium inside Gies Memorial Stadium on Saturday evening, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema knew what kind of opportunity had been missed following a 31-27 loss to Duke that included everything he’s built this Illini program to not be about: penalties, turnovers and mental errors.

“There’s some things that could have easily been avoided,” Bielema said. “It’s just a shame. I apologize. To get a sellout here and have the kind of crowd that we did, winning is addictive. From players, coaches and fans, you get used to having success in those moments and when it doesn’t happen, you’re upset, you’re pissed, you’re mad, you’re angry and I definitely fall into that category myself.”

Run Offense
One of the few positive signs throughout this loss for Illinois is the idea that for the most part of the first three quarters, it would’ve likely not been noticeable that Illinois began this game down both of its starting guards from the opening week lineup.

The 31-27 loss to Duke on Saturday was a failure in the first chance for evidence that Illinois can win with this 3-3-5 scheme against power conference opponents.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 12, 2026

CHAMPAIGN — It’s three little words and one phrase that mean so much to the present and future of a new endeavor: Proof. Of. Concept.

Following the 31-27 loss to a Duke team without a game-changing quarterback, elite athletes at wide receiver and an offensive line that is still yet to allow a tackle for loss through two games of this 2026 season, Saturday was a jarring sign this product may not work in the real world.

Yes, of course, Illinois is just two games into this analytical change on the defensive side of the ball. Yes, everybody connected to the 3-3-5 would gladly say this type of transformation takes time (and lots of it) before success is consistently revealed.

The problem is this Illinois program doesn’t have the kind of time to go through a major rebuilding phase against the Duke’s, Michigan State’s, Purdue’s, Maryland’s, UCLA’s, Nebraska’s and Northwestern’s of this college football world.

By IlliniGuys Staff September 12, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

By Zeno Jo - IllliniGuys Staff Writer

September 12, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Zeno Jo/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN – Bret Bielema and co. seem to have their eyes trained on their quarterback of the future. A few months ago, the future of the position after current starter Katin Houser appeared to be in the hands of one Kamden Lopati, who has since decommitted and committed to Michigan.

Under the assumption that Houser is in Champaign for this year and this year alone, an in- house quarterback battle is expected to take place between underclassmen Carson Boyd and Michael Clayton. A gap remains in the class of 2028, with sights set on Greenwood, Indiana’s Oscar Sloan, who spoke with IlliniGuys’ Zeno Jo.

“It’s been pretty good,” Sloan said of the visit thus far. “Got to talk to Coach B, talked to Coach Art [Sitkowski], just excited to see their offense in action.”

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 12, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Kedric Prince/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — It’s GameDay in Champaign, and the Illini welcome the ACC’s Duke Blue Devils to Champaign with an important opportunity to host a group of potential recruits from several classes.

Last week’s game against UAB was played on a Thursday, making it difficult for many prospective recruits to make the trip to Champaign. With the Illini back home on a Saturday, the Illinois coaching staff has an opportunity to get several young prospects on campus and give them an up-close look at the program and the GameDay atmosphere at Gies Memorial Stadium.

At 25 years old, William Holmes has found a new perspective in his second sports endeavor after mentally and emotionally dealing with a minor league baseball career.

DUKE at ILLINOIS

Records: Duke 1-0; Illinois 1-0

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Sept. 12, 2025: 2:30 p.m. CST, Gies Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Ill.

Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 60,670

ODDS: Illinois by 5.5

Series notes: Illinois leads the all-time series 2-1 after the 45-19 victory in Durham last season where the Illini turned three second-half turnovers into 21 points for the blowout win. The last time the two schools played before last season was 1965 when the Illini won 28-14 seven years after Duke won 15-13 in the first-ever matchup in Durham. The Illini and Blue Devils are two of the most successful programs in power conference operations over the last two seasons, with Illinois registering 20 wins since 2024 and Duke having won 19 games in the same time period. Illinois is coming off back-to-back seasons of nine wins or more for the first time in program history. Duke won nine games in both 2024 and 2025, marking just the second time in program history Duke posted consecutive nine-win campaigns.

TV: FS1; Jack Kizer (play-by-play), Mark Helfrich (analyst)

Radio (Illinois): Brian Barnhart (play-by-play), Carey Davis (color analyst), Kevin Mitchell (sideline reporter), and Steve Kelly (pre/half/post). The broadcast can be heard live on TuneIn online radio, SiriusXM 113/232, the SiriusXM App, and at FightingIllini.com/live.
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By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN — If there is anything his five-year minor league baseball career taught him, Will Holmes now knows the importance of internally celebrating the successes of a good rep, practice or game on the football field.

The journey for Holmes, a 25-year-old pass rusher for the Illini, has been a journey of learning how to accept past defeat, failure and physical injury in order to be the best athlete you can be for your present and, hopefully, future self.

One of the newest additions to the Illini football roster is an officially retired professional baseball player after being a fifth round selection in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft out of Western International High School in Detroit by the Los Angeles Angels. Five years of riding buses in Arizona, Utah, Montana, Idaho and California in front of crowds of barely 1,000 on some days/nights from ages 17-20 led Holmes, a promising dual-threat pitching and hitter prospect, to doing one thing he couldn’t handle - failure. In a sport where Hall of Fame players fail around seven times for every 10 at-bats and starting pitchers throw only about 55 percent strikes, Holmes can admit now he was not properly emotionally set up to fail as much as it is required for the start of a professional baseball career.

“It broke me. Professional baseball broke me and I had to find something to put myself back together mentally and physically,” Holmes said. “It was a low point in my life because I’d always been good at this thing and I never moved past why this was a struggle.”

September 11, 2026 The Illini face a big game […]

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

September 11, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN – Illinois’ passing game found an early rhythm in its season opener against UAB last week, and senior wideout Collin Dixon was at the center of it. The wideout, named one of six team captains in the offseason, hauled in all six of his targets, including a wide-open touchdown on the first drive of the season.

Behind the scenes, that on-field product came from Dixon’s connection with new quarterback Katin Houser, which has been building day by day since Houser arrived on campus in January and paying off in performances like last Thursday’s.

"It's been great, working with Luke the past two years was awesome, and then getting the opportunity to work with a guy like Katin has been a lot of fun," Dixon said. "Every day getting better, and it pays off in nights like tonight when he knows he can throw it my way and I can be a little security blanket for him."

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema knows exactly where he was when the places crashed into the towers on Sept. 11, 2001 and why he didn’t go recruiting that weekend.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 11, 2026

CHAMPAIGN — Similarly to millions of Americans honoring the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy, Bret Bielema knows exactly where he was and what he was doing the moment the first plane crashed into the tower in New York City.

Bielema, who played and began his coaching career at the University of Iowa, will always connect the 9/11 tragedy with the annual Cy-Hawk rivalry football game between Iowa and Iowa State. On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Bielema, the then-linebackers coach for Hawkeyes program in the first month of the third season working for his alma mater under Kirk Ferentz’s leadership as head coach. Bielema was preparing for practice as Iowa began its week for arguably the most important college football game in the state.

“I was in a defensive staff meeting. [Then-Iowa defensive coordinator] Norm Parker, who was and is a tremendous influence in not just my career by in my life, was leading the meeting. I was sitting next to [current Iowa defensive coordinator] Phil Parker. Robb Smith was a graduate assistant and had just walked out for a minute and then came back in and said a plane had just flown into the tower,” Bielema said. “We all tried to process that but I remember that we all kept working. Robb would come back in and tell us the second tower was hit and then we all started having deep conversations. I think it was less than 24 hours later that the games were being postponed.”

As part of the pregame Sept. 11 ceremony at Gies Memorial Stadium on Saturday prior to kickoff of the game against Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke (2:30 p.m. CST, FS1), a large American flag (pending weather and wind) will be displayed and a live national anthem will be performed by Jim Cornelison.

Shortly before the Music City Bowl practices, Kaden Feagin asked for a meeting with Bret Bielema and the news ultimately made the Illinois head coach proud to hear.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 10, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN — Before the preparations for the Music City Bowl, Kaden Feagin scheduled a meeting with his head coach and remained nervous as he walked into Bret Bielema’s office in the Smith Center.

After two seasons at tailback at Illinois, Feagin was convinced he needed to change positions but this isn’t a topic that the soon-to-be 22-year-old was entirely comfortable presenting with the boss of the Illini football program. Even in the pay-for-play era of college football where player salaries and contracts can create a leverage negotiation for the player labor on the rosters in a way that this level of the sport had never seen before, Feagin didn’t want to wear another team’s jersey.

Feagin wanted badly to stay 45 minutes from his mother and family in Arthur, Ill. And if Bielema, who on Feagin’s first on-campus visit told Feagin’s grandfather that he thought his grandson’s 240-pound running style reminded him of Hall of Famer Franco Harris, wasn’t on board for all of this, the awkwardness set in immediately.

Illinois tailback Ca’Lil Valentine had a team-high 88 yards in the season-opening win over UAB but his block on a score late in the game is what impressed Illini coaches.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 10, 2026

CHAMPAIGN — Even in a game with a 51-yard touchdown run and his second-largest career single-game rushing total, the play where Ca’Lil Valentine got the most praise was one where he never touched the football.

On a first-and-goal pass play from the 6-yard-line early in the fourth quarter, the Illinois tailback said he had a feeling the Alabama-Birmingham defense believed a carry was coming the way of No. 5 in a blue jersey. The third-year tailback knew two things. One, in order for this play call from Illini offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. to work, his quarterback would need a few extra seconds to operate. Two, this was a moment to prove Valentine’s offseason work to become a reliable option for all down-and-distance situations was proving effective.

The result of a six-yard touchdown run on a scramble by Katin Houser was the product of an impressive blitz pick-up block by Valentine - a 205-pound tailback not known for his efficiency as a blocker.

“My responsibility was the edge rusher but I was able to read their defense and know that the interior end might come free so it was on me to do what I can,” Valentine said on Tuesday.

Illinois fourth-year player Max Herendeen, currently the 26th best […]