Featured

IlliniGuys.com beat writer Matthew Stevens assesses the categories and overall aspect of the No. 9 Illini’s 63-10 loss at No. 19 Indiana in the Big Ten Conference opener. 

Run Offense

To be fair, it is relatively hard to get any consistent run game going when you find yourself down four scores in the first half of a contest. However, Illinois (3-1) could never get the early tempo of this game changed with its running game. Through 30 minutes of action, the Illinois running backs had just 14 yards on seven carries with the longest carry being a 13-yard quarterback draw play by quarterback Luke Altmyer. 

As you could guess or witnessed on Saturday night,

By IlliniGuys Staff BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Francisco Mendoza threw […]

Illinois’ coaches know what they’re about to see in Indiana’s run game because most of them lived it with former Wisconsin offensive line coach Bob Bostad.

No. 9 ILLINOIS AT No. 18 INDIANA

Records: Illinois 3-0

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025: 6:30 p.m. CST, Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana

Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 52,626

Series notes: Illinois leads 46–25–2. Illinois has not won in Bloomington since 2011. Illinois and Indiana will meet in a ranked vs. ranked matchup for the second time in history and the first time since Oct. 28, 1950, when No. 12 Illinois beat No. 19 Indiana, 20-0, in Champaign. Illinois is looking for its first road win as a top-10 team since Oct. 27, 1990.

TV: NBC; Noah Eagle (play-by-play); Todd Blackledge (color analyst) and Kathryn Tappen (sideline reporter).

Radio (Illinois): Scott Beatty (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 139/195, the SiriusXM App, and at FightingIllini.com/live.

NOTE: Beatty, who is the Host of SportsTalk & Illini Gameday on WDWS, and play-by-play voice of Illini baseball and softball, is substituting for Brian Barnhart as he attends his daughter’s wedding on Saturday.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A point could be made that the offensive identity for Wisconsin’s back-to-back Big Ten titles from 2010-11 was created and maintained mostly by one man. And Bret Bielema wouldn’t ever not argue that point.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

September 19, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The on-field entourage before No. 9 Illinois’ 38-0 victory over Western Michigan included a crowd of 2027 and 2028 football recruits, the full Illinois men’s basketball team, with its staff and their 2026 recruit Sinan Huan.

Of everybody present, one person seemed more eager than any other for next year. Casey Thomann, a three-star, in-state offensive line commit in the class of 2026, was present for pregame festivities,

With Illinois having so many veteran players and returning starters on both sides of the ball, it’s the trusted players making suggestions to coaches at halftime.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 19, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Justin Stepp keeps consistently saying that the one thing that surprised him after he was hired as the wide receivers coach at the University of Illinois was the football intelligence of the players in his meeting room.

The living embodiment of what Stepp is referencing is fourth-year receiver Hank Beatty. It should be noted that Stepp has been around intelligent people serving as receiving targets in his stops at Clemson, Appalachian State, Southern Methodist University, Arkansas and South Carolina. It is also accurate to suggest Stepp has never had a player in his room where both his parents are doctors and was a highly productive offensive player in a wide-open, spread-option Rochester (Ill.) High School playbook based on timing and rhythm as much, if not more, as size and power.

September 20, 2025 After an impressive non-conference performance from […]

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

September 19, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Just before Illinois hosted Western Michigan in a 38-0 shutout victory last Saturday, a handful of recruits lined the edge of the north end zone. A few 2027 recruits and a 2026 commit were taking in the atmosphere, but there was no recruit bigger – literally – than Sinan Huan.

Huan, a larger-than-life 7-foot center who is part of the 2026 recruiting class, is rated as a four-star recruit by 247 Sports, a top-100 recruit, and the tenth-highest rated center in the class.

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

September 18, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

The Illini schedule for the 2025-26 season is a gauntlet, but that’s just the way Brad Underwood wants it. Illinois will play a total of 25 games against high major opponents with a veteran team capable of making a run.

“Players want to play in big games,” Underwood told IlliniGuys.com last summer. “They want to play against the best. We’re going to play good people. We don’t shy away from it.”

The Jim Thorpe Award watch list candidate is not expected to be on the travel roster when No. 9 Illinois plays at No. 19 Indiana on Saturday night.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 18, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Unless a second opinion on his lower body injury reveals a drastic medical theory shift, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema does not sound optimistic about having his Phil Steele Preseason All-Big Ten Conference first team selection on the travel roster this weekend.

In his final media availability before the game on Thursday afternoon, Bielema confirmed fourth-year defensive back Xavier Scott have not been active for practice this week. Scott suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury that appeared to be an ankle or foot issue late in the fourth quarter of the 38-0 win over Western Michigan last weekend.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

September 18, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Several in-state and regional recruits lined the north end zone before No. 9 Illinois faced off against Western Michigan last Saturday. Among them was Corey Laga, a 2027 offensive lineman who spoke with IlliniGuys about his visit and the recruitment process that’s been heating up with his junior year of high school football ahead of him.

Laga could be one of head coach Bret Bielema’s early in-state finds. This year’s team has 50 players who played high school football in Illinois. Laga, who is from Lemont, about two hours north of Champaign in the Chicago suburbs, says that when he thinks of Illinois football, he thinks of one word.

“Really, I just think family,” he said. “They have the FamILLy slogan, they have a family in their locker room. And also culture, too. Coach Bret has brought them together.”

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 19, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois hosted one of the nation’s top young prospects last weekend when Keller Daugherty, a 6-foot-9 shooting guard from the class of 2027, made his visit to Champaign. For Daugherty, the experience matched what he was hoping to see.

“It’s everything I thought it would be,” Daugherty said. “Yeah, for sure, for sure.”

Assistant coach Tyler Underwood is the lead recruiter for Daugherty, saying they have built a strong connection.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 17, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Kedric Prince/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Jaxon Davis, a 6-foot-1, 165-pound point guard from Gurnee, made a trip to Champaign to watch an Illinois men’s basketball workout this past weekend, and he walked away impressed with what he saw. Ranked No. 53 in the country by ESPN, Davis described his visit as a business trip, focusing on how the Illini develop their guards both in and out of season.

“I loved the guard play here and the freedom they have,” Davis said. “I was paying attention to the little things they do, because they’re all different players. (Kylan) Boswell, (Keaton) Wagler, and (Mihailo) Petrovic are very fast, athletic, and shoot the ball good.”

There had been speculation about Davis

By IlliniGuys Staff

September 17, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy delivered the latest news on the men's basketball board on our premium forums earlier this week. Here's what we found out:

The 255-pound tailback for Illinois had a 100-yard evening against Western Michigan and might be hitting his most confident stride as the No. 9 Illini enter Big Ten Conference play.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 17, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The first and possibly only person who can properly know if Kaden Feagin finally felt back to normal in a game following extensive lower body physical therapy is the young man wearing a No. 3 Illinois jersey.

Following his 100-yard performance in the 38-0 win over Western Michigan on Saturday, Feagin told local reporters that in the midst of his 20-carry performance, the 21-year-old said there was a moment he felt different with the football.

“I felt like on my (3-yard) touchdown run was where I stuck my head in there, made one cut and then kept my feet going after contact,” Feagin said Saturday night. “I felt like that moment really set the tone for the night for me.”

According to Pro Football Focus data,

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 16, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – On Saturday, the nation’s ninth-ranked Illinois football team hosted Western Michigan. Head coach Bret Bielema and his staff brought in a large group of potential football recruits, but the men’s basketball program also made noise, welcoming one of the top players in the 2026 class to campus.

Cameron Holmes, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Millennium High School in Goodyear, Arizona, made his first trip to Champaign for an official visit. For Holmes, the experience was eye-opening.

"I am really glad to be here. I didn't know what to expect, but wow