2025 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 2025 Illinois Fighting Illini football team will represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Bret Bielema, the Fighting Illini play home games at Memorial Stadiumin Champaign, Illinois.

2025 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 12
Record	0–0 (0–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bret Bielema (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Barry Lunney Jr. (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Aaron Henry (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Terrance Jamison (3rd season)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 2024 2026 →

2025 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 12 Illinois		0	–	0					0	–	0
No. 20 Indiana		0	–	0					0	–	0
Iowa		0	–	0					0	–	0
Maryland		0	–	0					0	–	0
No. 14 Michigan		0	–	0					0	–	0
Michigan State		0	–	0					0	–	0
Minnesota		0	–	0					0	–	0
Nebraska		0	–	0					0	–	0
Northwestern		0	–	0					0	–	0
No. 3 Ohio State		0	–	0					0	–	0
No. 7 Oregon		0	–	0					0	–	0
No. 2 Penn State		0	–	0					0	–	0
Purdue		0	–	0					0	–	0
Rutgers		0	–	0					0	–	0
UCLA		0	–	0					0	–	0
USC		0	–	0					0	–	0
Washington		0	–	0					0	–	0
Wisconsin		0	–	0					0	–	0
Championship: December 6, 2025
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant As of August 26, 2025 Rankings from AP Poll

Offseason

Transfers

Outgoing

Player	Position	Destination
Declan Duley	P	Central Michigan
Morrison Giggetts	WR	Chicago
Zylon Crisler	IOL	Colorado
Ronan Poynton	LB	Drake
Demetrius Hill	S	FIU
Kenari Wilcher	WR	Florida A&M
Enyce Sledge	DL	Florida Atlantic
Steven Scott III	OT	Fresno State
Josh McCray	RB	Georgia
Cal Swanson	QB	Holy Cross
Nick True	TE	Illinois State
Alex Bray	DE	Kansas
Henry Boyer	TE	Kentucky
Joep Engbers	IOL	Liberty
Fabrizio Pinton	K	McNeese
Weston Adams	WR	Montana
Chase Canada	CB	North Texas
Zach Aamland	OL	Rutgers
Blayne Sisson	DB	Southern Illinois
Donovan Leary	QB	Tulane
Carlos Orr-Gillespie	WR	Utah State
Nate Guinn	TE	Utah Tech
Kevin Wigenton II	OL	Virginia
Ethan Moczulski	K	Washington
Hunter Whitenack	OL	Western Michigan
Jake Huber	QB	Unknown
Kirkland Michaux	QB	Unknown
Hugh Robertson	P	Unknown
Jake Furtney	TE	Withdrawn
Tyler Strain	DB	Withdrawn

Incoming

Player	Position	Previous school
Christian Abney	TE	Ball State
Justin Bowick	WR	Ball State
Eli Coenen	DL	Bemidji State
Tomiwa Durojaiye	DL	Florida State
Ayden Knapik	OL	Idaho
Nathan Knapik	OT	Idaho
Lucas Osada	K	North Carolina
Ethan Hampton	QB	Northern Illinois
Carter Hewitt	DL	Northern Iowa
Keelan Crimmins	P	Purdue
Davin Stoffel	TE	South Dakota State
Tyler McMillan	OL	Southeast Missouri State
Lars Rau	P	Texas State
Murphy Clement	RB	West Virginia
Hudson Clement	WR	West Virginia
Leon Lowery Jr.	DE	Wisconsin
James Thompson Jr.	DL	Wisconsin
Curt Neal	DL	Wisconsin

^[1][2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result
August 29	6:30 p.m.	Western Illinois*	No. 12	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	Peacock
September 6	11:00 a.m.	at Duke*		Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ABC or ESPN
September 13	6:00 p.m.	Western Michigan*		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	FS1
September 20		at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)
September 27		USC		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL
October 4		at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)
October 11		Ohio State		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck)
October 25		at Washington		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA
November 1		Rutgers		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL
November 15		Maryland		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL
November 22		at Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI
November 29		Northwestern		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll - Released prior to game All times are in Central time

^[3][4]

Rankings

Further information: 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	12
Coaches	12
CFP	Not released																Not released

Game summaries

vs Western Illinois

See also: 2025 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Western Illinois Leathernecks (0–0) vs No. 12 Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Leathernecks			0
No. 12 Fighting Illini			0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: August 29
• Game time: 6:30 p.m.
• Game weather:  
• Game attendance:  
• Referee:  
• TV announcers (Peacock): Paul Burmeister (play-by-play), Phil Simms (analyst), and Zora Stephenson (sideline reporter)

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	WIU	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Duke

See also: 2025 Duke Blue Devils football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) at Duke Blue Devils (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Fighting Illini			0
Blue Devils			0

at Wallace Wade Stadium • Durham, North Carolina

• Date: September 6
• Game time: 11:00 a.m.
• Game weather:  
• Game attendance:  
• Referee:  
• TV announcers (ABC/ESPN):  

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	ILL	DUKE
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Duke	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Western Michigan

See also: 2025 Western Michigan Broncos football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Western Michigan Broncos (0–0) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Broncos			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: September 13
• Game time: 6:00 p.m.
• Game weather:  
• Game attendance:  
• Referee:  
• TV announcers (FS1):  

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	WMU	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Indiana

See also: 2025 Indiana Hoosiers football team and Illinois–Indiana rivalry

Pregame line	Over/under

Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) at Indiana Hoosiers (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Fighting Illini			0
Hoosiers			0

at Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, Indiana

• Date: September 20
• Game time:  
• Game weather:  
• Game attendance:  
• Referee:  
• TV announcers ( ):  

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	ILL	IU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Indiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs USC

See also: 2025 USC Trojans football team

Pregame line	Over/under

USC Trojans (0–0) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Trojans			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: September 27
• Game time:  
• Game weather:  
• Game attendance:  
• Referee:  
• TV announcers ( ):  

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	USC	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
USC	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Purdue

See also: 2025 Purdue Boilermakers football team and Illinois–Purdue football rivalry

Pregame line	Over/under

Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) at Purdue Boilermakers (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Fighting Illini			0
Boilermakers			0

at Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana

• Date: October 4
• Game time:  
• Game weather:  
• Game attendance:  
• Referee:  
• TV announcers ( ):  

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	ILL	PUR
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Purdue	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Ohio State

See also: 2025 Ohio State Buckeyes football team and Illibuck

Pregame line	Over/under

Ohio State Buckeyes (0–0) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Buckeyes			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: October 11
• Game time:  
• Game weather:  
• Game attendance:  
• Referee:  
• TV announcers ( ):  

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	OSU	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ohio State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Washington

See also: 2025 Washington Huskies football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) at Washington Huskies (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Fighting Illini			0
Huskies			0

at Husky Stadium • Seattle, Washington

• Date: October 25
• Game time:  
• Game weather:  
• Game attendance:  
• Referee:  
• TV announcers ( ):  

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	ILL	WASH
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Washington	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Rutgers

See also: 2025 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (0–0) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Scarlet Knights			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: November 1
• Game time:  
• Game weather:  
• Game attendance:  
• Referee:  
• TV announcers ( ):  

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	RUTG	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rutgers	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Maryland

See also: 2025 Maryland Terrapins football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Maryland Terrapins (0–0) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Terrapins			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: November 15
• Game time:  
• Game weather:  
• Game attendance:  
• Referee:  
• TV announcers ( ):  

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	MD	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Maryland	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Wisconsin

See also: 2025 Wisconsin Badgers football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) at Wisconsin Badgers (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Fighting Illini			0
Badgers			0

at Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin

• Date: November 22
• Game time:  
• Game weather:  
• Game attendance:  
• Referee:  
• TV announcers ( ):  

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	ILL	WISC
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Wisconsin	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Northwestern

See also: 2025 Northwestern Wildcats football team and Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry

Pregame line	Over/under

Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Wildcats			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: November 29
• Game time:  
• Game weather:  
• Game attendance:  
• Referee:  
• TV announcers ( ):  

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	NU	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Roster

2025 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 0 Justin Bowick Jr WR 1 Mario Sanders II Jr WR 2 Ashton Hollins  Jr RB 3 Kaden Feagin Jr QB 4 Carson Boyd Fr RB 5 Ca'lil Valentine So WR 7 Alexander Capka-Jones Sr WR 8 Malik Elzy Jr QB 9 Luke Altmyer Sr QB 10 Ethan Hampton  Sr WR 11 Brayden Trimble Fr QB 12 Trey Petty  Fr WR 13 Hudson Clement  Jr TE 14 Cole Rusk Sr WR 17 Collin Dixon  So WR 18 Michael Bartolotta Sr RB 21 Aidan Laughery  Jr RB 22 Petey Olaleye  So TE 23 Jordan Anderson  Jr RB 25 Aaron Ball  Fr RB 27 Corey Rashad  So WR 28 Karson Kaiser  Fr TE 39 Jake Furtney  Fr OL 54 Griffin Rousseau Fr OL 55 T. J. McMillen  So OL 56 JJ Hirdes Fr OL 57 Zach Barrett  Fr OL 58 Melvin Priestly Sr OL 63 Dezmond Schuster Sr OL 64 Josh Kruetz Sr OL 65 Kellen Francis  So OL 66 Brandon Hansen So OL 68 Michael McDonough Fr OL 72 Ayden Knapik Sr OL 73 Josh Gesky Sr OL 74 J. C. Davis  Sr OL 75 Brandon Henderson Jr OL 78 Eddie Tuerk  Fr OL 79 Zafir Stewart  Fr WR 80 Hank Beatty Sr WR 83 Tysean Griffin  Fr TE 84 Grant Smith Fr TE 85 Tanner Arkin Sr WR 87 Tyler McClure Sr TE 88 Davin Stoffel  So TE 89 Tanner Hollinger  Fr TE Christian Abney Jr TE Logan Farrell Fr RB John Forster Fr OL Dylan Frechette Fr OL Nathan Knapik  Fr OL Tyler McMillan  Jr QB Jershaun Newton Fr RB Cedric Wyche II Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 0 Mac Resetich Jr DB 1 Kaleb Patterson  Jr DB 2 Saboor Karriem Jr OLB 3 Alec Bryant Sr OLB 4 Daniel Brown  Jr DB 5 Torrie Cox Jr. Sr DB 6 Jaheim Clarke Jr DB 7 Matthew Bailey  Jr DL 8 Jeremiah Warren  So OLB 9 Leon Lowery Jr. Sr DB 10 Miles Scott Sr DB 12 Amar Reynolds  Fr DB 13 Xanai Scott Fr DB 14 Xavier Scott Sr DB 15 Andre Lovett Jr. Fr DB 16 Tanner Heckel So OLB 17 Gabe Jacas Sr OLB 18 Mason Muragin  So DB 19 Tyson Rooks  Jr DB 20 Tyler Strain Sr DB 21 Ben Clawson  Jr DB 22 RJ Jones III Fr DB 24 Vernon Woodward III  Fr LB 26 Ismael Kante Jr LB 28 Dylan Rosiek  Sr DB 29 T. J. Griffin  Jr OLB 30 JoJo Hayden  So DB 31 Murphy Clement  Fr LB 33 Grant Beerman Fr OLB 34 Erik Gayle Fr DB 35 Grayson Griffin  Sr DL 36 Tomiwa Durojaiye  Jr LB 39 Kenenna Odeluga Sr LB 41 James Kruetz  Jr OLB 41 Clayton Leonard  Jr LB 42 Luke Zardzin  Sr OLB 43 Joe Barna So DL 44 Angelo McCullom So LB 45 Malachi Hood  Jr LB 47 Easton Baker  Fr OLB 48 Carter Smith  Fr OLB 49 Harrysson Ngassa  Fr DL 52 Pat Farrell  So DL 54 Demetrius John  Fr DL 56 Guillermo Gallardo  Jr DL 90 James Thompson Jr.  Sr DL 91 Cameron Brooks Fr DL 92 Gentle Hunt  Sr DL 93 Henry Engel  So DL 99 Curt Neal  Jr DB Tywan Cox Fr DL Carter Hewitt  Sr LB Jack Paris Fr DB Des Straughton Fr DL Isaiah White Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 24 David Olano Jr LS 36 Lane Hansen Sr P 40 Keelan Crimmins Sr LS 44 Patrick Mahoney III  So K/P Lucas Osada So P Lars Rau So	Head coach Bret Bielema Coordinators/assistant coaches Barry Lunney Jr. – Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks Aaron Henry – Defensive coordinator/secondary Terrance Jamison – Co-defensive coordinator/Defensive line Robby Discher – Special teams coordinator/Tight ends Archie McDaniel – Linebackers Bart Miller – Offensive line Corey Parker – Defensive backs Justin Stepp – Wide receivers Thad Ward – Running backs/Assistant head coach Trent Harris – Outside linebackers Ben Miller – Senior head coach analyst Myers Hendrickson – Senior analyst Mike Neu – Senior offensive assistant Joe Kim – Skill development coordinator Chris Hurd – Senior special teams assistant Alex Panos – Co-outside linebackers Artur Sitkowski – Co-quarterbacks Byron Bell – Assistant offensive line Danny Cameron – Assistant tight ends Matt Ellerbrock – Assistant linebackers Dan Ellington – Assistant wide receivers Houston Griffith – Assistant defensive backs Antonio James – Assistant defensive line Ryan Simerson – Assistant secondary James White – Assistant running backs Harper Cole – Offensive skill and special teams assistant Blake Smithback – Offensive front assistant Tank Wright – Director, Strength and Conditioning GC Yerry – Associate Director, Strength and Conditioning Matt Manninger – Assistant, Strength and Conditioning Nick Elicone – Assistant, Strength and Conditioning Tyler Mayo – Assistant, Strength and Conditioning Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 7/26/2025