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By IlliniGuys Staff October 11, 2025 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - […]

In 2010, with his Wisconsin team ranked No. 18, Bret Bielema’s squad knocked off the No. 1 team in the nation in one of the more special moments in Madison. Today, Bielema gets another chance at a top-ranked Buckeyes program.

No. 1 OHIO STATE at No. 17 ILLINOIS

Records: Ohio State 5-0, 2-0 in Big Ten; Illinois 5-1, 2-1 in Big Ten

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025: 11 a.m. CST, Gies Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Ill.

Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 60,670

Series notes: Ohio State leads the all-time series 69–30–4. Ohio State has won nine straight in the series dating back to Illinois' upset over the No. 1 ranked Buckeyes in 2007. Saturday will be the first ranked-vs.-ranked matchup between the teams since 2001, when No. 12 Illinois beat No. 25 Ohio State, 34-22, in Champaign on its way to the Big Ten title. Illinois will host the #1 team in the nation for the 11th time in history and the first time since 2006. Illinois is 3-13 against top-ranked teams. Illinois knocked off top-ranked opponents in back-to-back opportunities at home in 1950 and 1956, plus beat No. 1 Ohio State in Columbus in 2007. Saturday will be the first time a ranked Illinois team will host a top-ranked team since 1950 (No. 8 Illinois beat No. 1 Ohio State).

TV: FOX; Gus Johnson (play-by-play); Joel Klatt (color analyst) and Jenny Taft (sideline 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 82, the SiriusXM App, and at FightingIllini.com/live.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 11, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A top-ranked Ohio State squad riding a long winning streak is coming to your home stadium where your squad in ranked in the top 20 of polls but is a significant home underdog to the Buckeyes. Yes, Bret Bielema has lived out this kind of script before.

During the third Saturday in October in the 2010 season, No. 1 Ohio State came to Camp Randall Stadium to play Bielema’s Wisconsin squad when it was presumed that Jim Tressel’s team led by quarterback Terrelle Pryor, wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher and defensive lineman Cameron Heyward would roll into Madison, Wisconsin and win its 13th game in a row. However,

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer October 10, […]

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

October 10, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The class of 2026 Illinois football commits appear to be a tight-knit group, staying in touch weekly and sending a message to each other: remain committed and don’t let other programs pull you away.

From the Lone Star State, linebacker Kaedyn Cobbs, a 6-foot, 195-pound recruit from Denton Guyer High School, has become one of the leaders in setting that tone.

Cobbs committed to Illinois this past February, choosing the Illini over

October 10, 2025 The Illini made the IlliniGuys look […]

Whether we’re talking yards given up, points given up or pretty much any statistical category, Illinois isn’t that far off its 2024 pace after facing some of the nation’s best offenses.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 10, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The defense being played by the football team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign isn’t nearly as poor as you may think.

One note before we go any further. If you’re reading and have reached the mental and emotional stage of ‘Aaron Henry should be terminated as soon as possible and nothing else will satisfy me’ then please stop reading this piece right now. If you’re at that point, no editorial piece is going to change your mind and IlliniGuys.com recognizes that, in this instance, we simply are not the audience for your needs.

For the rest of you, this in-depth is going to mostly be statistical in nature so let’s start with the idea that the statistic of total defense (yards a defense surrenders per game)

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema still publicly unclear whether fifth-year center Josh Kreutz will be in the lineup Saturday but seemed much more confident about having Aidan Laughery in the backfield.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 9, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois head coach Bret Bielema says he’s very confident about having a key offensive weapon back this weekend but he’s still unsure if Josh Kreutz will return to the center of the offensive line.

On Thursday afternoon, in his final media session before the No. 17 Illini host No. 1 Ohio State, Bielema confirmed fourth-year tailback Aidan Laughery was “with us all week”. Laughery was on the travel roster last weekend and went through pre-game warmups before the Illini’s 43-27 win over Purdue in West Lafayette but the severe ankle injury Laughery suffered in the road win at Duke on Sept. 6 has hampered his mobility for the last month but Bielema said the 5-foot-11, 200-pound tailback has not missed a day of practice this week as the Illini go through preparations for the defending national champions.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

October 9, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – It’s been almost exactly a year and a half since Jake Davis chose to transfer to Illinois. Transferring after a freshman year at Mercer, the McCordsville, Indiana native arrived at Illinois holding a reputation as an elite three-point shooter. Since then, a lot has changed about him, his team, and his role in it.

Davis is one of the many beneficiaries of strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher, who has earned plaudits from head coach Brad Underwood as one of the best in the nation.

With the mentorship of Illinois veteran center Josh Kreutz, 20-year-old TJ McMillen was able to perform at a high level in his first career start in the Illini’s win at Purdue.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 8th, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The timeline of events last Saturday morning made it more and more obvious Josh Kreutz’s job had changed.

At 9 a.m. CST, Illinois put out its league-mandated injury report that listed the third-year starting center as questionable. About 90 minutes before kickoff, Kreutz walked out of the visiting tunnel of Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium with his uniform pants and knee braces on in what initially looked like an attempt by the 22-year-old to keep his streak of 30 consecutive starts alive.

However, as time of the pre-game warmup dwindled down, the organization of what was transpiring showed Kreutz looking more and more like a player-coach than somebody who would be in the center of Illinois’ offensive line for the next three and a half hours. Kreutz was followed closely by third-year lineman TJ McMillen.

By Kedric Prince Staff Writer

October 8th, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois men’s basketball team has been one of the most explosive offensive programs in the Big Ten and among the best in the country over the past few seasons. But as the 2025-26 season approaches, head coach Brad Underwood and his staff know offense alone won’t win championships.

After another high-scoring campaign in which Illinois ranked among the top 10 nationally in points per game, Underwood has turned his attention and his trust to a new defensive voice. Camryn Crocker is tasked with rebuilding a defense that ranked near the bottom of the Big Ten.

In 2023-24, Illinois finished ninth in the nation, averaging 83.4 points per game offensively.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

October 8, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Villanova University)

Player Biography: Maddie Webber, a junior transfer guard from Villanova, made an impact during her sophomore season, earning second-team All-Big East honors. She averaged 13.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while totaling 478 points, 105 rebounds, 80 assists, 30 steals, and 20 blocks. Her breakout game came this past February against DePaul, when she scored a career-high 30 points on 12-for-28 shooting.

What we know:

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

October 7, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Illinois put in a workmanlike effort and generally outclassed Purdue to record a 43-27 win in West Lafayette Saturday. It wasn't a work of art by any means, but it was nice to know that Illinois is at a point where it can put in a vanilla game plan and still secure a road win in the Big Ten. And for those who would dismiss Purdue, keep in mind that USC beat Purdue by the same 16 point margin a few weeks ago. Barry Odom is a quality coach and he brought 54(!) transfers with him to Purdue. So, while PU is not ready for prime time, they're in better shape than they were under Ryan Walters the last few years. However, while Odom is known as a defensive whiz, his offense looked pretty good Saturday, while his defense looked like it was lacking.

I'm going to start with the Illini defense because of a play I got completely wrong on game day, but on second watching I saw a well-run QB draw. On Saturday I cursed our defense for

Through six games this season, Illinois wide receiver Hank Beatty is the first Big Ten player to record a touchdown while passing, rushing, receiving, and on a punt return TD in 22 years.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 7, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — While at Big Ten Football Media Days in late August, Luke Altmyer told reporters from his podium in Las Vegas that he still wasn’t sure who the “alpha” wide receiver on the 2025 Illinois roster would be.

Hank Beatty has answered that call.

“No, it didn’t make me mad. It actually made me laugh because I think we all knew, including Luke, how good our (wide receiver) room was,” Beatty said Saturday.

Through six games of this 2025 season, it’s impossible to suggest Beatty isn’t the go-to target for the passing game of No. 17 Illinois and Altmyer. And the man who calls the plays for the Illinois believes Beatty is that figure in his offensive scheme.

Following the 43-27 victory at Purdue last weekend, the main objective of the Illini defensive coaches is putting a limit on the explosive plays being surrendered. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 7, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois head coach Bret Bielema acknowledged Saturday following the 16-point win at Purdue that the program he’s built is currently in a different mode where “

In that new mentality, our IlliniGuys.com is going to start with the defensive breakdowns that, quite frankly, made the final score of this game seem closer than the two-possession game it was for basically the entire second half. 

Let’s start with philosophy of Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry is operating in the 2025 season - especially considering the loss of All-Big Ten defensive back Xavier Scott for likely the remainder of the regular season following a severe ankle injury. 

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

October 6, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Mark Busch)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Just a few weeks ago, the Fighting Illini hosted then- #21 USC for homecoming. Illinois pulled off a thrilling 34-32 win on a walk-off field goal by David Olano. That game had a smaller list of recruits, but this weekend’s matchup will be on an entirely different level.

For yet another time, Fox Big Noon Kickoff will broadcast from Champaign. The stage is set as defending national champion and current #1 Ohio State comes to Gies Memorial Stadium in what is being billed as one of the biggest games in years for Illinois football.

The Illini are planning to host a much larger group of recruits who will get to see firsthand the buzz around Champaign when two top-20 programs collide.