Football

A major factor in the Illinois being unable to get any kind of pass rush Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is the Buckeyes doubled and sometimes tripled-teamed Gabe Jacas.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 14, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Give credit to Ohio State’s trio of coaches that scheme up their passing attack including head coach Ryan Day, offensive coordinator Brian Hartline and co-offensive coordinator & tight ends coach Keenan Bailey.

What these three coaches do so very well when they’re playing the likes of Illinois, Washington or another opponent where they’re a significant favorite (mostly because the Buckeyes have acquired a severe talent advantage on its roster) is identify and initially slow down the defensive disruptor who can individually wreck a drive, quarter and game on that underdog team.

The identification part is relatively easy. As No. 1 Ohio State approached the preparation for a road test at Illinois, Gabe Jacas had Plan A, B and probably C to converting big plays and staying on the field on third down. It’s also likely most of the sold-out capacity crowd at Gies Memorial Stadium knew Jacas was the player who needed to be highlighted and kept out of the Buckeyes backfield for a large portion of success for the road team to consistently happen.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

October 14, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Not ready for prime time. That was my and most people's take after the painful loss to Ohio State Saturday. Illinois outgained the Buckeyes. They played them evenly on the line of scrimmage and held their own at the skill positions. Luke Altmyer probably outplayed Julian Sayin. But Illinois lost 34-16 and was generally out of reach of the win because of 3 turnovers and a punting foible that was basically a turnover too. In other words, Ohio State looked like a CFP team, while Illinois looked like a team that isn't quite good enough for that. Still though, despite the odd voting that left Illinois out of the AP poll with losses to the 1st and 3rd best teams in the nation, Illinois continued to look like a top 20 type of team. And really, if they take the right lessons away from Saturday's loss, they can still reach that next level.

This play was destined for a loss from the start. Sometimes you can get away with not blocking the end man on the back side of a running play if you create a threat with the quarterback. However, that works a lot better on the wide side of the field, and more importantly, Ohio State's Kenyatta Jackson is just too athletic to be delayed by that type of minor influence. He eats this TFL up like he's back in high school. Note that Collin Dixon has a rare lack of effort on this one. Ohio State's Davison Igbinosun takes inside leverage on this one so it's going to be a tough block, but Dixon lets him free after a token shove.

IlliniGuys.com football writer/analyst gives his outlook of the college football world as we enter the month of October.

October 13, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — We’ve reached the first off weekend for the Illinois football team and after a month-long preseason camp and seven straight weeks of games, the proverbial pause button has likely come at the perfect time for Bret Bielema’s bunch in Champaign-Urbana.

However, without an immediate game to look forward toward and discuss, IlliniGuys.com realizes with its midseason Top 25 poll and College Football Playoff projections realizes that the there is still potential for a best case scenario for the Illini (5-2, 2-2 in Big Ten Conference) regarding the 2025 Big Ten Championship Game. Is it the Illini being a participant for the first time in school history? No…not directly.

With losses to both No. 1 Ohio State and No. 3 Indiana, two programs that failed to play each other in the regular season, there is a multiverse world (for all my comic book lovers out there) that could easily become a reality where the undefeated Buckeyes and undefeated Hoosiers meet in Indianapolis in the final game of the college football regular season to decide who will likely be the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff bracket when it’s revealed on the next afternoon. If that scenario were to play out,

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.

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 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.