Football

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed Thursday there will be no starting lineup changes for the offensive line after giving up seven sacks in a 63-10 loss at Indiana.

No. 21 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA at No. 23 ILLINOIS

Records: USC 4-0, 2-0 in Big Ten; Illinois 3-1, 0-1 in Big Ten

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025: 11 a.m. CST, Gies Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Ill.

Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 60,670

Series notes: Southern California leads all-time series is tied at 11-2. Illinois and USC will meet for the first time since the 2008 Rose Bowl Game following the 2007 regular season. USC will be making its first visit to Champaign since 1996. The last win for Illinois came on Sept. 4, 1989 in a game that was originally supposed to be played in the Soviet Union where Illinois scored 14 points in the final five minutes to steal a 14-13 win in the Los Angeles Coliseum. 

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 84, the SiriusXM App, and at FightingIllini.com/live.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 27, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — On Illinois’ first offensive series of the afternoon on Saturday, the same five offensive line starters will jog on the field at Gies Memorial Stadium against the University of Southern California.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed Thursday there will be no starting lineup changes for the offensive line after giving up seven sacks in a 63-10 loss at Indiana. From left to right, J.C. Davis, Josh Gesky, Josh Kreutz, Brandon Henderson and Melvin Priestly will again be charged with making the five-man cohesion work. 

September 26, 2025 Last week did not go as […]

For the second consecutive week, and this one last one resulting in a 63-10 loss at Indiana, Illinois is going through issues with missed tackles leading to more explosive plays.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Aaron Henry saw the symptoms of this disease coming with his Illinois defense and attempted to sound the alarm. Not many listened.

Two days after a 38-0 home win over Western Michigan, the 36-year-old defensive play-caller evaluated the film of his defense’s performance during the near-27 minutes that the Mid-American Conference opponent held the football. Henry didn’t like what he was documenting when he noted Illinois had 10 missed tackles.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 24, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois football’s 2026 quarterback commit, Michael Clayton of Edison High School in Miami, Florida, is looking forward to another trip to Champaign. The Class of 2026 prospect continues to show excitement about his future with the Fighting Illini as he prepares to visit for Illinois’ Homecoming game against #21 USC.

Clayton, who committed to Illinois early, has been vocal about his confidence in the program’s direction under head coach Bret Bielema. His belief in the Illini staff and their ability to compete at a high level is clear.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema is not going to allow his team’s offensive line shoulder all of the blame for the amount of sacks and protection issues in the 2025 season.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

CHAMPAIGN — For those looking for a finger of blame inside the Smith Family Football Complex to be directly pointed at the Illinois offensive line, the Illini’s fifth-year head coach, the fourth-year offensive coordinator and fifth-year offensive line coach aren’t going to let that happen.

“It’s not just the offensive line. It’s just not. That’s too easy,” Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said. “It’s a protection issue by the tight ends, running backs, wide receivers getting to their spot in the route on time and the quarterback.”

Bart Miller, the Illini’s offensive line coach and one of the first assistants hired by Bielema to his first Illini coaching staff, did acknowledge the obvious - that Illinois has struggled at the line-of-scrimmage with a unit consisting of five returning starters.

Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry called Saturday’s blowout loss in Bloomington on Saturday as a ‘wonderful learning mechanism’ to get the Illini defense back on track in 2025.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

BLOOMINGTON. Ind. — It would be inadvisable for anybody to suggest to Aaron Henry that the result of last Saturday night should be categorized as a major problem.

If you believe watching his defense surrender nine touchdowns and seven straight scores to end a 63-10 blowout loss at then-No. 19 Indiana serves anywhere near the top of the list of the worst things that has ever happened in Henry’s 36-year-old life, the Illinois third-year defensive coordinator has some news for you. The football game on Saturday doesn’t register near the top of tough moments for the man who was one of 11 children growing up in a part of southern Florida where the income of nearly 40 percent of the community population is below the poverty line.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

September 23, 2025

Well, longtime Illini fans know they should never get too comfortable when things look good.  This is a program that, prior to last year, had lost the last eight games it had played in front of a home sellout crowd.  So, while Saturday night was certainly painful, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's witnessed a game that was similarly painful at some point in the last 50 years of doldrums.  What made this game especially painful though was that the Illini were supposed to be ready to compete for the College Football Playoff.  However, as Curt Cignetti said (I'm paraphrasing) We came out stronger than them, and recognized that they couldn't match up with us on the outside, and then we took their will.  That's just about a perfect summary.

Just so everyone knows, I'm not attempting to pile on by not showing any of the good Illini plays in this piece, I'm trying to show everyone what went wrong.  And I'm starting with the defense this week because they were even worse than the offense.

For the first time in his head-coaching career, Illinois’ leader Bret Bielema immediately watched the film on the bus ride home following the 63-10 loss at Indiana.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 23, 2025

BLOOMINGTON. Ind. — While on the 166-mile trip from Bloomington, Indiana to Champaign-Urbana, Bret Bielema did something as the clock barely went past midnight on Sunday he says he’s never done in his 17 seasons as a head coach.

Bielema watched the film of the game his team just immediately played on the plane or bus ride back home. This is the description of an act of something a power conference head coach would normally do like a normal person breaths air. However, Bielema will easily remind whoever who will listen that the human bias element of scouting needs to be negated as much as possible.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 23, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Prep RedZone)

Champaign, IL - The Illinois football program continues to make recruiting a priority as it prepares for one of the biggest home games on its schedule. When the Fighting Illini host defending national champion Ohio State on Hall of Fame Weekend, the spotlight won’t just be on the field. The stands will be filled with top recruits, including Minnesota safety Blake Betton.

Betton, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound linebacker from Shakopee High School,

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 22, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

Champaign, Ill. - The 23rd-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini will welcome a group of high school recruits to campus this weekend as they host the 21st-ranked USC Trojans. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, with national coverage featuring Rob Stone, Brady Quinn, Mark Ingram II, Urban Meyer, Matt Leinart, Dave Portnoy, and Chris Fallica. Coverage begins at 10 a.m. ET.

The weekend will not only bring one of the biggest games on Illinois’ schedule, especially after their loss to the Indiana Hoosiers last Saturday night, 63-10 but also an opportunity for Bret Bielema and his staff to showcase the program to top talent from across the country.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed Monday the All-Big Ten defensive back will have season-ending surgery on his ankle. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 22, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The 2025 season is over for Xavier Scott. 

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed Monday in his weekly media conference inside Memorial Stadium that the fourth-year defensive back will have season-ending surgery to repair his injured ankle. 

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular September 22, 2025 The […]

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema promises a serious assessment of his team’s offensive line play will begin as soon as they arrive back in Champaign following the 63-10 loss at Indiana.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 21, 2025

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Go ahead and let Illinois head coach Bret Bielema describe the problems he sees with his team’s offensive line.

“What we’re asking them to do assessment-wise and I give Indiana a lot of credit for what they do but we definitely can’t live this way,” Bielema said following the worst loss of his tenure with the Illini. “Whether we’re going to have to change it up schematically, that’s one opportunity.”

And now listen to Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti’s evaluation of what he said he saw all week in film preparation against the then-No. 9 Illinois squad.

Illinois leaves Bloomington, Indiana with its first loss of the 2025 season wondering if this 63-10 blowout is a sign of things to come for the immediate future.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 21, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — To his ever-loving credit, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said Saturday he thought his football team was consistent for 60 minutes.

“Not only did we not play well in the first quarter but we didn’t play well in second quarter, third quarter or fourth quarter either,” Bielema said. “We stayed pretty consistent if you ask me.”

IlliniGuys.com beat writer Matthew Stevens assesses the categories and overall aspect of the No. 9 Illini’s 63-10 loss at No. 19 Indiana in the Big Ten Conference opener. 

Run Offense

To be fair, it is relatively hard to get any consistent run game going when you find yourself down four scores in the first half of a contest. However, Illinois (3-1) could never get the early tempo of this game changed with its running game. Through 30 minutes of action, the Illinois running backs had just 14 yards on seven carries with the longest carry being a 13-yard quarterback draw play by quarterback Luke Altmyer. 

As you could guess or witnessed on Saturday night,