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By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

November 30, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy player's page on X)

Illinois fans received a great Thanksgiving gift right as they were settling in for the big meal when Grant Beerman of Lakota West (Ohio) High School flipped his commitment to Illinois from Purdue.  This was a long-rumored switch, but the timing made it especially sweet for Illinois fans looking for a capstone on a resurgent season.  Beerman is a 6'4, 220 pounder who plays middle linebacker for his high school team but figures to switch to outside linebacker at Illinois.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

Illinois will finish the 2024 season against Northwestern inside the Chicago Cubs home stadium.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 30, 2024 

No. 23 Illinois at Northwestern

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024: 11 a.m. CST, Wrigley Field, Chicago

Surface: Grass

Capacity: 41,649 (for baseball); Estimated capacity for Saturday is approximately 40,000.

Records: Illinois 8-3, 5-3 in Big Ten; Northwestern 4-7, 2-6 in Big Ten

Betting Line: Illinois by 8.

Series notes: Illinois leads the all-time series 57-55-5 and has won both of the all-time matchups at Wrigley Field. Northwestern currently owns The Land of Lincoln Trophy after defeating the Illini in Champaign 45-43 in the 2024 regular season finale. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema is 4-2 all-time against Northwestern.

TV: Big Ten Network; Chris Vosters (play-by-play), Matt Millen (analyst) and Kylen Mills (reporter)

Radio (Illinois): Brian Barnhart (play-by-play), Carey Davis (analyst), Michael Martin (sideline), and Steve Kelly (pre/half/post).  The broadcast can be heard live on TuneIn online radio, SiriusXM, the SiriusXM App, and at FightingIllini.com/live.

Given the opportunity to play a game against Northwestern inside Wrigley Field, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema’s answer was an emphatic yes.

“I think it’s going to be pretty awesome,” Bielema, a publicly stated Chicago Cubs fan who has sang the ‘Take Me Out To The Ballgame’ on four consecutive summers, said on Thursday.

Bielema’s only problem was when he saw this version of the game last season when his alma mater, Iowa, faced Northwestern inside the Cubs stadium where both teams were required to use the same sideline.

November 29, 2024 The Illini are looking to close […]

Brad Sturdy, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular Host and Illini Insider

November 29, 2024

Things could not have gone much better for the Illini on Thanksgiving as they feasted on the Arkansas Razorbacks in a 90-77 win. Tomislav Ivisic started early draining 3’s and would finish with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks on 6-9 shooting from deep. Then Kasparas Jackucionis would hit big shots late en route to a 23 point performance that showcased why he is high on draft radars. But the Illini defense, which had struggled against Ole Miss and Alabama, looked like it found its way enough that paired with a high powered offense makes Illinois tough to beat. 

Here’s a look at what we saw. 

Ked's Recruiting Roundup

November 29, 2024

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Last Saturday, Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer notched his fifth fourth-quarter comeback victory, leading Illinois to a thrilling 38-31 win over Rutgers.

During our postgame podcast, a fan posed an intriguing question: How has Illinois football improved its ability to recruit top talent under head coach Bret Bielema?

This inquiry spurred interest among fans and led my colleague and podcast host, Mike Cagley, and I to discuss some of the high-profile recruiting victories Illinois has achieved since Bielema took the reins.

By IlliniGuys Staff November 28, 2024 (Cover photo courtesy […]

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting November 28, 2024 […]

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

November 28, 2024

It’s finally here. After much hype and anticipation, the Illinois v Arkansas matchup on Thanksgiving Day in Kansas City has arrived. The matchup features a ton of storylines, brother v brother, coach v coach, etc., but most importantly this is a key non-conference matchup between two teams that have a great opportunity to go deep in March. A win on Thursday not only means that the turkey tastes better, but gives the winner a key win for seeding in the 2025 NCAA tournament.

Let’s look at the matchup.

Setting the Stage

Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase
Illinois (5-1) vs. #19/#21 Arkansas (5-1)
Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 // 3 p.m. CT // Kansas City, Mo. // T-Mobile Center
TV: CBS – Ian Eagle (Play-by-Play), Bill Raftery (Analyst), John Rothstein (Reporter) Radio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play), Deon Thomas

Notable

*Illinois (5-1) closes a stretch of four games in nine days across three different cities, with a Thanksgiving Day matchup against No. 19-ranked Arkansas (5-1) in the Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. (3 p.m. CT/CBS).

*The Illini are coming off of the team’s two largest victory margins of the season – vs. UMES (+47, 87-40) on Saturday and vs. Little Rock (+58, 92-34) on Monday – to improve to 5-0 at home this season, with an average scoring margin of 38.8 points.

*Monday’s win over Little Rock marked the 148th victory of Brad Underwood’s Illini tenure. In his eighth season in Champaign, Underwood now ranks fifth on the Illinois all-time coaching wins list.

*Newcomers to the Illini roster have accounted for 90.1% of the team’s scoring so far (484 of 534 total points), with UI freshmen accounting for 38.7% of those points (207).

*Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks among the top teams nationally in: scoring margin (7th in NCAA, +30.2), 3-point attempts per game (1st, 34.3), 3-pointers made per game (10th, 11.3), total rebounds per game (1st, 50.2), rebound margin (1st, +17.3), defensive rebounds per game (3rd, 34.5), and offensive rebounds per game (13th, 15.7)

By IlliniGuys Staff November 27, 2024 (Cover photo courtesy […]

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed Wednesday fifth-year pass rusher Seth Coleman will be inactive for the regular season finale after suffering a shoulder/arm injury in the 38-31 win at Rutgers.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 27, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Seth Coleman will not get an opportunity to finish his collegiate career at Wrigley Field.

In his final media session before the regular season finale against Northwestern, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed Wednesday Coleman will not be on the 74-player travel roster. The fifth-year pass rusher suffered a serious shoulder/arm injury in the second half of the 38-31 win at Rutgers and Coleman has been inactive for practice sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. was honored Tuesday […]

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

November 27, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

This Illinois team is battle tested, isn't it?  This staff has built a group that doesn't flinch in the big moments and its been great to see and enjoy through what figures to be a memorable 2025 season.  Saturday provided yet another example of the mental toughness of this group of Illini as they overcame some rough luck and tricky conditions to come back (twice!) in the last few minutes to beat a solid Rutgers squad.

I wanted to start off this week by highlighting an abnormal play that just happened to work for both teams this week: the draw on a running down. 

By IlliniGuys Staff November 26, 2024 (Cover photo courtesy […]

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

November 26, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

To copy one of Brad Underwood’s favorite phrases, ‘That’s what they look like.’ The Illini dominated a solid Arkansas-Little Rock team on Monday night by a 92-34 score and looked like a team with huge upside starting to find their way.

Let’s look at the breakdown.

These 3 Things

Defense Worth Watching 

Ked's Recruiting Roundup November 25th, 2024 By Kedric Prince […]