NCAA FBS Big Ten

Illinois football predictions & picks

Big Ten

2026 record: 6-3
Big Ten: 9th
PPG: 28.4
Streak: W4
Last 5: Lost 17–24 vs Purdue · Sat, Oct 3 Won 38–37 OT at Michigan State · Sat, Oct 10 Won 21–10 vs Oregon · Sat, Oct 24 Won 20–17 at Maryland · Sat, Oct 31 Won 24–13 vs Nebraska · Fri, Nov 6

Illinois next game

Wk 11

Illinois @9:00 PM ET Friday, November 13 UCLA

Best pick O 46.5−137 70% confidence See the prediction: Illinois at UCLA

Illinois 2026 schedule & results

Every pick graded once the game ends

WeekOpponentResult Our best pickGame page

Wk 1Thu, Sep 3Sep 3 vs UAB UAB W42–23 —

Wk 2Sat, Sep 12Sep 12 vs Duke Duke L27–31 —

Wk 3Sat, Sep 19Sep 19 vs Southern Illinois S Illinois W48–10 —

Wk 4Sat, Sep 26Sep 26 @Ohio State Ohio State L19–42 —

Wk 5Sat, Oct 3Oct 3 vs Purdue Purdue L17–24 —

Wk 6Sat, Oct 10Oct 10 @Michigan State Michigan St W38–37 OT —

Wk 8Sat, Oct 24Oct 24 vs Oregon Oregon W21–10 ILL +17.5−227✓ Oregon at Illinois prediction

Wk 9Sat, Oct 31Oct 31 @Maryland Maryland W20–17 ILL +4.5−256✓ Illinois at Maryland prediction

Wk 10Fri, Nov 6Nov 6 vs Nebraska Nebraska W24–13 ILL +11.5−263✓ Nebraska at Illinois prediction

Wk 11Fri, Nov 13Nov 13 @UCLA UCLA 9:00 PM ET O 46.5−137 Illinois at UCLA prediction

Wk 12Fri, Nov 20Nov 20 vs Iowa Iowa TBA Pick coming soon

Illinois team stats

2026 regular season · 9 games · rank among 138 FBS teams

Offense

Points 28.4/ game 67th

Total yards 392.2/ game 58th

Passing yards 236.9/ game 54th

Rushing yards 155.3/ game 66th

Third-down conversions 45.9% 27th

Giveaways 0.7/ game 11th

Time of possession 28:51 99th

Defense

Points allowed 23.0/ game 54th

Yards allowed 376.8/ game 91st

Passing yards allowed 245.6/ game 119th

Rushing yards allowed 131.2/ game 55th

Takeaways 0.7/ game 132nd

Penalties 4.3/ game 8th

Illinois leaders

2026 regular season

Passing Katin Houser 1,955yds 16 TD · 5 INT · 64.3% comp. · 8 games

Rushing Aidan Laughery 615yds 2 TD · 6.2 per carry · 9 games

Receiving Collin Dixon 905yds 67 catches · 12 TD · 9 games

Tackles Matthew Bailey 66 9 games

Sacks Ean Rhea 2 8 games

Interceptions Matthew Bailey 1 1 passes defended · 9 games

Illinois picks record

Our best picks on their games, 2026 · pushes not counted

100.0% 3 won · 0 lostSmall sample so far. Picks never change once posted and are graded from the final score. Full track record

Big Ten standings

All college standings

#Team WLT W-L PCTPFPA DIFFSTRKSTK

1 UCLA UCLA 900 9-0 1.000 302127 +175 W9

2 Indiana Indiana 810 8-1 .889 292112 +180 W2

3 Iowa Iowa 720 7-2 .778 250110 +140 W2

4 USC USC 720 7-2 .778 292218 +74 W1

5 Ohio State Ohio State 630 6-3 .667 321165 +156 L2

6 Oregon Oregon 630 6-3 .667 307199 +108 W2

7 Northwestern Northwestern 630 6-3 .667 279174 +105 L2

8 Wisconsin Wisconsin 630 6-3 .667 220147 +73 W1

9 Illinois Illinois 630 6-3 .667 256207 +49 W4

10 Nebraska Nebraska 540 5-4 .556 272149 +123 L4

11 Penn State Penn State 540 5-4 .556 260174 +86 W2

12 Washington Washington 540 5-4 .556 237197 +40 L1

13 Michigan Michigan 540 5-4 .556 176146 +30 L1

14 Minnesota Minnesota 540 5-4 .556 222198 +24 L2

15 Purdue Purdue 360 3-6 .333 265291 −26 L3

16 Maryland Maryland 360 3-6 .333 249282 −33 W1

17 Michigan State Michigan St 360 3-6 .333 174212 −38 W1

18 Rutgers Rutgers 270 2-7 .222 232292 −60 L3

Illinois FAQ

Who does Illinois play next?

Next up for Illinois: on the road at UCLA, Friday, November 13, 9:00 PM ET. Our moneyline, spread and over/under picks for that game are on its prediction page.

What is Illinois’s record this season?

Illinois is 6-3, 9th in the Big Ten.

Who leads Illinois in passing yards?

Katin Houser, with 1,955 passing yards in the 2026 regular season (16 TD · 5 INT · 64.3% comp. · 8 games).

What is the model’s record picking Illinois games?

Its best pick is 3-0 in Illinois games this season (100.0%, small sample). Picks never change once posted, and each one is graded from the final score.

Big Ten rivals

All teams

Indiana Iowa Maryland Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Nebraska Northwestern Ohio State Oregon Penn State Purdue Rutgers UCLA USC Washington Wisconsin

Illinois this week

Illinois is 6-3, 4-2 in Big Ten play. Its last game was a 24–13 win over Nebraska at home on November 6, its fourth in a row. Its offense averages 28.4 points a game (tied for 67th in FBS), and its defense allows 23.0 (54th).

Next up, Illinois visits UCLA on Friday, November 13 at 9:00 PM ET. At the sportsbooks, Illinois is a 10.5-point underdog, and the over/under is 48.5 points. Our moneyline, spread and over/under picks for the game are on the Illinois vs UCLA prediction page. The rest of the week’s games are on the college football picks board.