Football

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

December 1, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In an age when the transfer portal fuels college football’s fast-paced traffic, Illinois is moving with a different tone. The Illini are targeting junior college standouts, tapping into a path most call it the old school approach in recruiting.

Why call it old school? Because the modern landscape revolves around the transfer portal. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema will unquestionably tap into the portal like every other power-conference program, but as IlliniGuys’ Mike Cagley, co-host of Sports Spectacular on I on the Illini, put it, “This junior college experiment by Bielema I like, because you can get top talent for a lot cheaper and build a good roster, especially if they can evaluate good talent.”

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

December 1, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Mother Nature made Illinois' last game of the 2025 regular season a little more interesting that we would have liked, but the Illini managed to turn tough weather conditions into a memorable final game at Memorial Stadium for a final 8-4 record and the first consecutive 8-win seasons since 1989 and 1990. While it was a letdown from initial expectations on the season, this was a bigger win for the program than anyone in the Smith Center wanted to admit coming off a stinker in Madison last week. And, in a special turn of events compared to the rest of the season, the defense was the unit that carried the Illini rather than the offense. So, I'm going to start with their highlights this week.

On the first highlight I wanted to use this space to correct a wrong. The announcers attributed this big gain to a missed tackle from Matthew Bailey, but if you look again, you'll see he makes a great play.

Following the 20-13 victory over Northwestern, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema hints at a defensive staff rollover for the 2026 season.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 30, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Bret Bielema dropped a hint Saturday night that he’s not looking to make changes to the Illinois defensive coaching staff for the upcoming 2026 season.

Following the Illini’s 20-13 victory over Northwestern in the snow-filled rivalry game, Bielema answered a reporter’s question about his team’s defense being resilient following a down performance in the previous week by saying he’s “really going to enjoy working with (the defensive staff) during the bowl prep”. Bielema then proceeded to name every defensive positional coach with being “prideful” and “the most prepared individuals on a staff he’s ever worked with”.

Illinois was able to hold Northwestern to three second-half points and create three turnovers in a cold, snowy finale at Gies Memorial Stadium Saturday night.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 30, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In the 2025 finale to Gies Memorial Stadium, the Illinois defense was asked time and time again to make stops to the delight of Illini fifth-year head coach Bret Bielema and the seniors who made plays (Miles Scott’s two interceptions, Gabe Jacas’ two sacks and Dylan Rosiek’s 1.5 tackles for loss) to allow Illinois to withstand its lead.

“They did exactly what they needed to do in order to win that thing out,” Bielema said. “The two interceptions, one before the end of the half and one at the end of the game were obviously big.”

Run Offense
You’d just like for Illinois to be able to close this game out on the ground in the fourth quarter

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

November 30, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The show must go on and go on it did. In the midst of a winter storm that dropped over six inches of snow, the Illini found their way through a snowy, slippery, and freezing four quarters of football to top the Northwestern Wildcats 20-13 and protect the Land of Lincoln Trophy.

It’s hard to prepare for the kind of snow that Champaign-Urbana saw on Saturday. The west side of Gies Memorial Stadium was shut down, as was the student section and most of the south endzone horseshoe. On television, the game may have even reminded fans of COVID-era football.

By IlliniGuys Staff November 29, 2025 (Cover photo courtesy […]

Alec Bryant, who was the first transfer signee in the Bret Bielema era, will play in his final game at Gies Memorial Stadium today after six years in college football.

NORTHWESTERN at ILLINOIS

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

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025: 6:30 p.m. CST, Gies Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Ill.

Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 60,670

ODDS: Illinois by 7.5

Series notes: Illinois leads the all-time series 58–55–5 and Saturday will be the 17th battle for the relatively new rivalry trophy. Illinois is 6-10 against Northwestern since the beginning of the Land of Lincoln Trophy. The Illini own Land of Lincoln Trophy wins in 2024, 2022, 2021, 2014, 2011 and 2010.

TV: FOX; Connor Onion (play-by-play), Mark Helfrich (analyst)

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 137/195, the SiriusXM App, and at FightingIllini.com/live.
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By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 29, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — As he started this 2025 season, Alec Bryant nearly needs all five of the fingers on his right hand to count the amount of position coaches he’s had in his college football career.

November 29, 2025 The Illini face a Northwestern team […]

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst November 28, 2025 […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

November 27, 2025

(Cover photo player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — If you’re an Illinois fan, Thanksgiving delivered a double dose of good news. Earlier in the day, Brad Underwood and the men’s basketball program secured a commitment from Quinton Kitt, a 6-foot-7 forward from East Peoria, Ill. Not long after, Bret Bielema made sure the football program joined the celebration when cornerback Jakwon Morris decommitted from USC and pledged to Illinois.

Morris, a 6-foot-0, 175-pound cornerback, is exactly the type of player Illinois needed in its secondary. Considered one of the nation’s top 3 junior college cornerbacks, he will suit up for the Illini after originally committing to the Trojans. He comes from Northwest Mississippi CC, a program known for producing defensive backs.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

November 26, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Zeno Jo/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – We’ve all heard of “two birds, one stone,” but the Illini coaching staff may be looking to take down three birds with one Illinois-shaped stone.

Head coach Bret Bielema has taken a liking to in-state recruiting since arriving in 2021, and as of late has also been heavy in recruiting players who have family ties to the program. His next target? A player playing football right out of Northwestern’s backyard.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

November 26, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois’ most recent loss to Wisconsin left a sour note across Illini Nation, but the future of the program remains steady. The recruits who have pledged themselves to the Orange and Blue are standing firm, none more than quarterback Michael Clayton.

Clayton, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound quarterback from Edison High School in Miami, Fla., is slated to arrive on campus in 2026. Even with the ups and downs of the current season, he’s excited to get his college career going.

Clayton said his commitment is rooted in his belief in the staff and the direction of the program. "Coaching and development that I know I’ll get there, and I believe we’ll be able to bring Big Ten championships to Champaign," he said.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

November 26, 2025

Bart Miller and Bret Bielema love their offensive line play, and with four of five starters leaving this offseason, we've seen quite a few recruits coming through Champaign this season to make sure there are enough quality options to ensure that the Illini have the quality line play in 2026 to which we've become accustomed.  To that end, Northeast Mississippi tackle Alfred Washington flipped his commitment from Marshall to the Illini last week after a prior visit to the Illini.  I like what I see from Washington, but I'd hold off on buying this jersey because he's a real wild card.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

IlliniGuys.com uses a film review this week to show how the scheme wasn’t necessarily the problem but a lack of execution and effort was the culprit in Wisconsin.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 26, 2025

MADISON, Wis. — In the midst of the obvious disaster that was Illinois’ 27-10 loss at Wisconsin, the two most troublesome items of concern were likely offensive line play and the defense’s inability to get third-down stops. Therefore, we’ll attempt to address both of those issues in depth in this film review piece.

Let’s start with the offensive line issues that allowed Wisconsin to generate five sacks and pressure on Luke Altmyer in 22 of the quarterback’s 42 dropbacks on Saturday night. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema painted the picture on Saturday night that Wisconsin’s edge rushers (Darryl Peterson and Mason Reiger) just flew around and won way too many 1-on-1 battles on the outside against the Illini’s tackles and tight ends. Of course, a further in-depth look at what transpired realizes that, as is usual, it’s not at all that simple.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

November 25, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Every loss is tough when you've built a good football program. The Ohio State and Indiana losses hurt because they were the program's best chance to take a big leap forward, yet Illinois wasn't up to the task. The Washington loss hurt because the Illini probably had more talent but had some coaching mishaps and some bad luck. However, this loss hurt even more, because the thing Bret Bielema could really hang his hat on this year was that this was a physically and mentally mature group that came to play in every game and wasn't going to lose an easy one...or so we thought. The Illini players and coaches both came out flat on Saturday and, despite having the more talented and experienced team, lost by 17 points in Madison. There's no real excuse for this loss either, and even if there were, this is the one that has the potential to hurt the program more than the others.

I'm going to start with the offensive highlights this week, and while we spent a lot of time talking about the poor pass blocking that led to 5 sacks on Saturday night, on re-watch I have to say a couple of these sacks were the result of Luke Altmyer getting confused both because of good defensive scheming and Altmyer's own indecision. We saw Luke double and triple pump on plays on Saturday like we haven't seen before and that was the result of Wisconsin disrupting his passing lanes and flooding short zones with defenders. On this first play Altmyer has four seconds before he starts to run outside and you can see Cole Rusk come up just before Altmyer looks for him. You can see Altmyer start to dump it off to Rusk but Daryl Peterson, who would go on to deflect two passes and get two more sacks Saturday night, gets his hands up and causes Altmyer to hold the ball. Wisconsin had Altmyer off schedule all night and they deserve credit for the scheming. I marked this down as a coverage sack after re-watching.