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By IlliniGuys Staff October 13, 2025 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - […]

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

October 13, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's social media)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – One of the first glimpses that the world caught of Andrej Stojakovic in Illinois colors was of him dressed in the team’s orange jersey with two flags draped over his shoulders – the Greek flag on his right shoulder and the Serbian flag on his left. He carries his identity with him everywhere he goes, and says that his upbringing, both as the son of an NBA great and as a foreigner, has shaped him on and off the court.

The last name should ring a bell for those who were basketball fans in the 2000s. Stojakovic is the son of former NBA champion and three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, who was a career 40-percent three-point shooter who had his most iconic years with the Sacramento Kings.

Stojakovic is ethnically Serbian and was born in Greece. Both countries are part of the Balkan Peninsula.

By Kedric Prince Staff Writer

October 12, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.- When IlliniGuys first reported that Keaton Wagler, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound shooting guard from Shawnee, Kansas, committed to Illinois in September 2024, many considered him an under-the-radar prospect due to his low national ranking. For example, Rivals.com ranked him as the nation's 67th-best shooting guard in the 2025 class.

But Illinois appears to have found a gem. While most major programs passed, the Illini identified his talent early. The only other Power Four school to actively recruit him was Minnesota.

At Illinois media day recently, head coach Brad Underwood made a bold comparison about Wagler.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

October 12, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois women’s basketball program, which currently boasts the nation’s No. 9-ranked 2025 recruiting class, is looking to build for the future. Recruiting never stops, and for head coach Shauna Green and her staff, it’s about developing meaningful relationships early. That’s exactly what they did recently with a rising star from Kentucky.

Charlotte McCurry, a 6-foot shooting guard from John Hardin High School in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and a member of the 2029 class, made the trip to Champaign for an unofficial visit. IlliniGuys caught up with McCurry as she reflected on her experience.

Illinois likely had to play extremely well to pull off a memorable upset of No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday and everybody saw today that certainly didn’t happen.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 11, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Bret Bielema watched the entire campus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign prepare for what he called “a moment”. Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer circled this game on the Illini schedule from the moment it was officially released in the summer. Both of these men have been around college football long enough to know that when No. 1 in the country comes to your town, you’d like to put up your effort to create a memory worth noting for decades to come. Instead, No. 17 Illinois (5-2, 2-2 in Big Ten Conference) found themselves falling into the mistakes that teams create for themselves when they’re not ready to push through and have an opportunity to be great. The 34-16 loss to No. 1 Ohio State (6-0, 3-0 in Big Ten) in front of a capacity crowd of Gies Memorial Stadium shows the Illini aren’t ready for that kind of leap just yet.

The first lesson Illinois head coach Bret Bielema imparted on this football program is in order to win games, you have to stop yourself from losing games on your own. Illinois is not ready to stop losing games against elite teams.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 11, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — That very much needed to be seen. That very much needed to be felt. That very much needs to be remembered.

The first lesson that Illinois head coach Bret Bielema attempted to impart when he flew in on Dec. 2020 to take over a football program that had seen decades of losing memories and defeatist attitudes in its locker room, fanbase and even maybe coaching staffs was more college football games are lost than won outright.

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.