Football

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema believes having four of his former quarterbacks still on current National Football League active rosters can only enhance a possible transfer portal pitch at that spot.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 13, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Bret Bielema has made the pitch to potential quarterbacks entering the transfer portal less than a month from now - the Illinois head coach can get you to the National Football League.

As he realizes he’ll only have Luke Altmyer behind center for Illinois for three more regular season games, Bielema began to use the bye week preparation to see that his recruiting strategy will include a host of quarterbacks playing the highest level of professional football.

From Russell Wilson in his final seasons at Wisconsin still being on the New York Giants active roster, Brandon Allen in his first season at Arkansas still being a backup quarterback with the Tennessee Titans or Tommy DeVito being the third-string option with the New England Patriots, Bielema feels adding Altmyer to his list of professional quarterbacks only adds to a potential transfer portal selling point.

For the sixth straight season and the 15th time […]

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

November 12, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Zeno Jo/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Of the recruits visiting Champaign last week for the team’s 35-13 win over Rutgers, there was one player who Bret Bielema and his staff might be looking to flip over to Champaign in the coming months. While Lance Dawson is already committed to suit up for Cincinnati next fall, he’s keeping his options open, something made possible in this new era of recruiting.

“It’s been nice this weekend for an OV, it’s been very nice. The staff’s very into me, the players are very into me, they’re not like, mean and they know how it is,” Dawson said, of course alluding to the fact that

Illinois linebacker Dylan Rosiek and right tackle Melvin Priestly are expected to play Saturday vs. Maryland

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 10, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — While its first bye week may have come later than any other Big Ten Conference program, the second bye week may have occurred in time for Illinois to get back to its healthiest possible roster of the 2025 season.

Minus the obvious season-ending injury to defensive back Xavier Scott, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema feels like every other projected starter should be available when the Illini host Maryland at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Saturday afternoon (2:30 p.m. CST, FS1).

“We should be at pretty full strength on Saturday,” Bielema said Monday.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

November 9, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Zeno Jo/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – In its push to look for some defensive linemen to add to its 2026 class, the Illinois Fighting Illini football team hosted an in-state big man who could be rated as an under- the-radar get.

Markius Woods, currently a senior at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago, was among the group of visitors at Gies Memorial Stadium last week for the team’s 35-13 win over Rutgers.

“It’s a great visit right now, just showing me the atmosphere. I’m just trying to see if I could call this place home for me,” Woods said.

The weekly rankings shows produced by Disney/ESPN are designed to be content aggregators for those addicted to college football but not designed to be taken seriously at all.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 8, 2025

Welcome the annual column where I do my best to convince you on how one of the biggest fraudulent moments inside college sports occurs for approximately one hour every week in November.

For around 60 minutes, including the commercials for the companies that essentially allow this annual context test to the intelligence of the common sports fan to continue, the Disney Corporation and its subsidiary, ESPN, produce and broadcast a television show designed look like news.

Welcome to the Tuesday night ‘College Football Playoffs Rankings Show’ where host Rece Davis and analyst Kirk Herbstreit and their annual revolving door of merry men of analysts spend 60 minutes in the middle of November trying to convince you, the loyal viewer who is so clearly addicted to American tackle football, that the short Zoom call all of these 12 committee members had is the most important thing that will ever happen for the next several days until we get to a weekend of games making what we’ve just dissected for the last three days severely irrelevant.

Following a 35-13 win over Rutgers, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema downplays his role in scouting preparation and says coming out of the bye week that his role never changed from previous weeks.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 6, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When asked if his increased scouting role for the defensive coaches prior to the Rutgers game, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema initially didn’t understand the question.

After making it publicly known that the Illini fifth-year head coach said Thursday that his role in scouting Rutgers’ third-down offense and doing a Monday morning presentation with the defensive coaches, Bielema said Thursday that his role last weekend was overblown by media and fans’ frustration following the loss at Washington.

“It really wasn’t that different last week,” Bielema said in his bye week media session at Gies Memorial Stadium. “I think people paid a lot more attention to it. Proud of guys and how they responded.”

IlliniGuys.com will detail, in this 35-13 win over Rutgers on Saturday, how Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. did what every successful offensive coordinator does - steal creative play calls. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 5, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — One of the first things that athletics coaches learn over the course of a career is their is no such thing as property theft when it comes to plays, formations and playbook creativity. 
Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. learned this rule Saturday in the 35-13 win over Rutgers with a red zone trick play call. The fourth-year offensive play-caller and his boss, fifth-year head coach Bret Bielema, have both previously said to media that Lunney will sometimes see play calls and interesting formations on social media (X and Instagram mostly) and then begin the implementation process the following Monday so the play call can be installed into the Thursday walk-through in the stadium. 

What is more than shocking about what Lunney stole this past weekend was it became a call on fourth-and-goal call from the 3-yard-line. This means Illinois (6-3, 3-3 in Big Ten Conference) put this play in the game plan early in the week and implemented it into Lunney’s callsheet in a matter of days. And finally, Lunney had enough confidence in the call and the fact that Rutgers hadn’t obviously seen the call on film throughout the 2025 season, that the Illini play-caller sent in the play in what was a huge spot of this game. 

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Insider

November 4, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

I hope everyone enjoyed Illinois' "get well" game against the visiting Scarlet Knights of Rutgers. For the second time this year, Bret Bielema's staff needed to rally the troops and get everyone back on the same page after an embarrassing road loss. And to their credit, they did. Illinois frankly just outclassed Rutgers on Saturday, which is what you'd hope to see from a well-established program.

Rutgers' defense has been a real problem under Greg Schiano. There isn't much talent, and they often can't even keep their assignments straight. This first play was a great example of the types of plays Rutgers has put on film this year. There are plenty of times when you'll see a defense lose track of a receiver inside the ten yard line, but Illinois' first touchdown on Saturday was a special kind of ugly.

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular November 3, 2025 The […]

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

November 2, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Zeno Jo/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – With high school playoff games taking place around Illinois, the convoy of visiting recruits before Illinois’ 35-13 win over Rutgers was smaller than the past few, but the week’s group appeared to be the staff’s attempt at filling gaps and prioritizing some in-state targets.

Among the group was class of 2027 linebacker Sean Rice, hailing from Aurora, Illinois and playing for St. Laurence High School. He recapped his visit, which was his third with a Power Four program this fall.

Following a 17-point loss at Washington, Illinois pulled together its most balanced performance in all three phases of offense, defense and special teams.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 1, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.

Run Offense
Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. promised that he would be intent on getting the quarterback involved in the run game and therefore, making all 11 offensive players dynamic when the Illini go to the ground. The fourth-year offensive play-caller at Illinois certainly kept his promise today. Unlike a lot of what was done last weekend in Seattle, a majority (if not all) of Luke Altmyer’s 88 yards on seven carries where on scrambles and not designed runs.

Following 35-13 victory over Rutgers Saturday, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema got to execute a post-game move he may enjoy more than any other - the ‘I told you so’.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 1, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Matt Stevens/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Short of hearing his daughter’s laugh or seeing his wife’s proud smile, the one thing Bret Bielema may love more than anything else is what he did in the post-game media conference on Saturday afternoon.

The winning head football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign got to strut up to the ‘block I logo’ podium inside Gies Memorial Stadium and say the two things he treasures more than anything else.

By IlliniGuys Staff November 1, 2025 (Cover photo courtesy […]

The last two-game losing streak for Illinois came on a frustrating home loss to Minnesota following a cross-country trip for a road loss at then-No. 1 Oregon in 2024. 

RUTGERS at ILLINOIS

Records: Rutgers 4-4, 1-4 in Big Ten Conference; Illinois 5-3, 2-3 in Big Ten Conference

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025: 11 a.m. CST, Gies Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Ill.

Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 60,670

Series notes: Illinois leads the all-time series 6-3 but the two teams are tied over four games in Champaign with Rutgers winning the last matchup in Illinois during 2021, which was Bret Bielema’s first season with the Illini. The last meeting was a 38-31 victory last season for the Illini in Piscataway, N.J. where the final play of the game was a walk-off touchdown pass from Luke Altmyer to Pat Bryant. 

TV: NBC; Paul Burmeister (play-by-play); Jason Garrett (color analyst) and Zora Stephenson (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 85, the SiriusXM App, and at FightingIllini.com/live.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

November 1, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The feeling Bret Bielema had after his team’s 17-point loss in Seattle was one he was very much familiar with. 

Following Illinois’ 42-25 loss at Washington, the Illini head coach’s mind instantly went to the program’s last two-game losing streak where they came off a long Pacific Northwest trip to then-No. 1 Oregon only to fall 25-17 in Champaign-Urbana to Minnesota the following the weekend. 

In that frustrating and confusing eight-point loss as a home favorite, Bielema