GAME MATCHUPSOURCED CFB RESEARCH
Big Ten · 2026

Illinois football 2026

Illinois 2026: 5-3 record. Season statistics, results and schedule context from sourced college-football data.

Metrics use completed games only. Missing source fields are shown as unavailable. Source: CollegeFootballData API. Per-game averages use completed games with reported values; yards/play = total yards / (rushing + passing attempts); turnover margin = opponent turnovers minus team turnovers; third-down and red-zone rates = conversions / attempts when reported. Stored CFBD games data for Illinois (2026), fetched 2026-11-03T23:13:33.100Z, was reused while refresh is pending or unavailable. Stored CFBD season-stats data for Illinois (2026), fetched 2026-11-03T21:11:39.012Z, was reused while refresh is pending or unavailable. Stored CFBD records data for Illinois (2026), fetched 2026-11-03T21:11:34.811Z, was reused while refresh is pending or unavailable. Stored CFBD FBS games fetched 2026-11-03T22:44:14.596Z; refresh pending or unavailable. Stored CFBD FBS membership fetched 2026-11-03T22:44:14.586Z; refresh pending or unavailable.Fetched 2026-11-03T21:11:34.811Z

Record5-3
ConferenceBig Ten
Season2026
Completed games8

Season stats

Season stat panel
StatValue
Points Per Game29 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game24.3 PPG
Total Offense394.3 yds/g
Total Defense370.6 yds/g
Passing Yards/Game230 yds/g
Rushing Yards/Game164.3 yds/g
Third Down %44.7 %
Red Zone %Not available
Turnover Margin0 +/-
Sacks8 total
Yards Per Play6.36 yds
Yards Per Play Allowed5.72 yds

Schedule and results

Illinois 2026 schedule
OpponentDateLocationResultScore
UABSep 4, 2026HomeW42–23
DukeSep 12, 2026HomeL27–31
Southern IllinoisSep 19, 2026HomeW48–10
Ohio StateSep 26, 2026AwayL19–42
PurdueOct 3, 2026HomeL17–24
Michigan StateOct 10, 2026AwayW38–37
OregonOct 24, 2026HomeW21–10
MarylandOct 31, 2026AwayW20–17
NebraskaNov 7, 2026Home—Score unavailable
UCLANov 14, 2026Away—Score unavailable
IowaNov 21, 2026Home—Score unavailable
NorthwesternNov 28, 2026Away—Score unavailable
Most recent completed games
OpponentDateLocationResultScore
MarylandOct 31, 2026AwayW20–17
OregonOct 24, 2026HomeW21–10
Michigan StateOct 10, 2026AwayW38–37
PurdueOct 3, 2026HomeL17–24
Ohio StateSep 26, 2026AwayL19–42
Upcoming games
OpponentDateLocationResultScore
NebraskaNov 7, 2026Home—Score unavailable
UCLANov 14, 2026Away—Score unavailable
IowaNov 21, 2026Home—Score unavailable
NorthwesternNov 28, 2026Away—Score unavailable

Team strength

Illinois strength ratings, 2026
MeasureValue
Opponent Strength (Elo Rating), completed schedule1,563.4
Remaining schedule strength1,788.3
Full schedule strength1,645.2
Conference Strength (Elo Rating)1,682.1
Opponent-adjusted offense (point-differential units)2.1
Opponent-adjusted defense (point-differential units)2.9
Opponent win pct54.5%
Opponent points for29.7
Opponent points against21.6
Home opponent strength1,542.3
Away opponent strength1,591.7
Neutral opponent strengthNot available

Coverage: 7 of 8 completed games rated; 4 of 4 remaining rated. 11 FBS and 1 FCS opponents. Coverage is partial; unrated opponents are not given estimated ratings. Values are Elo-scale ratings and point-differential units, not national ranks or forecasts.

Strength methodology

Elo is a team-strength rating named after its creator, Arpad Elo. Higher ratings generally indicate stronger teams.

As of2026-11-04T00:16:16.655Z
Season2026
SourceCollegeFootballData API games and FBS membership feeds
CFBD FBS games and FBS membership feed only; SP ratings are not used. A game is completed only when CFBD marks it completed, both scores are present, and kickoff plus an 8-hour safety buffer is strictly before the as-of time. Games starting at or after as-of are remaining; games in the safety window are excluded from both groups. Completed schedule strength averages each FBS opponent's pregame Elo for that matchup. Remaining schedule strength uses each scheduled FBS opponent's latest postgame Elo from an eligible completed game before as-of. Full schedule strength is the mean of rated completed and remaining FBS slots; ratedCompleted/ratedRemaining and FBS/FCS opponent counts expose partial coverage. FCS opponents are counted but never assigned Elo. Opponent record and points are computed from that opponent's completed schedule games before each encounter, excluding the encounter itself. Opponent-adjusted offense is team points minus opponent prior mean points allowed; opponent-adjusted defense is opponent prior mean points scored minus team points allowed. Conference strength is the mean latest eligible postgame Elo for conference members with such a rating; missing Elo is never imputed. Conference nonconference records count each completed FBS-vs-FBS cross-conference game once for each conference. Early-season/preseason CFBD Elo can reflect initialization rather than meaningful season results.

Keep exploring