2024 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 2024 Illinois Fighting Illini football team will represent the University of Illinois as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Fighting Illini are led by Bret Bielema in his fourth season as the team's head coach. They play home games at Memorial Stadium located in Champaign, Illinois.

2024 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	2–0 (0–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bret Bielema (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Barry Lunney Jr. (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Aaron Henry (2nd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Terrance Jamison (2nd season)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

2024 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Michigan State		1	–	0					2	–	0
Indiana		0	–	0					2	–	0
No. 8 Penn State		0	–	0					2	–	0
Rutgers		0	–	0					2	–	0
Washington		0	–	0					2	–	0
Wisconsin		0	–	0					2	–	0
Illinois		0	–	0					1	–	0
Nebraska		0	–	0					1	–	0
No. 2 Ohio State		0	–	0					1	–	0
No. 7 Oregon		0	–	0					1	–	0
Purdue		0	–	0					1	–	0
UCLA		0	–	0					1	–	0
No. 13 USC		0	–	0					1	–	0
No. 21 Iowa		0	–	0					1	–	1
No. 10 Michigan		0	–	0					1	–	1
Minnesota		0	–	0					1	–	1
Northwestern		0	–	0					1	–	1
Maryland		0	–	1					1	–	1
Championship: December 7, 2024
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant As of September 8, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	8:00 p.m.	Eastern Illinois*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	W 45–0	43,849
September 7	6:00 p.m.	No. 19 Kansas*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	FS1	W 23–17	60,670
September 14	11:00 a.m.	Central Michigan*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	Peacock
September 20	7:00 p.m.	at Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	FOX
September 28	3:30/4:00/7:30 p.m.	at Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA
October 12		Purdue	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)
October 19		Michigan	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)
October 26	3:30/4:00/7:30 p.m.	at Oregon	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR
November 2		Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL
November 16		Michigan State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL
November 23		at Rutgers	SHI Stadium Piscataway, NJ
November 30		at Northwestern	Wrigley Field Chicago, IL (rivalry)
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll - Released prior to game All times are in Central time Source:

Game summaries

vs Eastern Illinois

See also: 2024 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

Pregame line	Over/under
Illinois –28.5	50.5

Eastern Illinois Panthers (0–0) at Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0
Fighting Illini	14	17	7	7	45

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL

• Date: August 29
• Game time: 8:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Sunny, 82 °F (28 °C)
• Game attendance: 43,849
• Referee: Ron Snodgrass
• TV announcers (BTN): Mark Followill (play-by-play), Jeremy Leman (analyst), and Kylen Mills (sideline reporter)

Game information

First quarter 4:15 ILL – Pat Bryant 15-yard pass from Luke Altmyer (David Olano kick) (Drive: 10 plays, 77 yards, 5:12; Illinois 7–0) 0:43 ILL – Tanner Arkin 5-yard pass from Luke Altmyer (David Olano kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 25 yards, 1:49; Illinois 14–0) Second quarter 10:10 ILL – David Olano 39-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 53 yards, 4:45; Illinois 17–0) 4:43 ILL – Pat Bryant 28-yard pass from Luke Altmyer (David Olano kick) (Drive: 2 plays, 29 yards, 0:38; Illinois 24–0) 1:30 ILL – Malik Elzy 34 yard pass from Luke Altmyer (David Olano kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 67 yards, 0:59; Illinois 31–0) Third quarter 7:04 ILL – Kaden Feagin 1-yard run (David Olano kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 86 yards, 4:40; Illinois 38–0) Fourth quarter 13:51 ILL – Josh McCray 6-yard run (David Olano kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 87 yards, 4:27; Illinois 45–0)

Statistics	Eastern Illinois	Illinois
First downs	9	27
Total yards	196	488
Rushing yards	49	246
Passing yards	147	242
Passing: comp–att–int	16-32-2	21-29-0
Time of possession	23:59	36:01

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Eastern Illinois	Passing	Pierce Holley	16/32, 147 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	MJ Flowers	9 carries, 28 yards
	Receiving	DeAirious Smith	5 receptions, 63 yards
Illinois	Passing	Luke Altmyer	19/24, 213 yards, 4 TD
	Rushing	Kaden Feagin	16 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Pat Bryant	5 receptions, 63 yards, 2 TD

vs No. 19 Kansas

See also: 2024 Kansas Jayhawks football team

Pregame line	Over/under

No. 19 Kansas Jayhawks (1-0) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (1-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 19 Kansas	0	0	0	0	0
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: September 7
• Game time: 6:00 p.m.
• TV announcers (FS1): Alex Faust (play-by-play) and Robert Smith (analyst)

Statistics	Kansas	Illinois
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

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

vs Central Michigan

See also: 2024 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Central Michigan Chippewas (0-0) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Central Michigan	0	0	0	0	0
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: September 14
• Game time: 11:00 a.m.
• TV: Peacock

Statistics	Central Michigan	Illinois
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

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

at Nebraska

See also: 2024 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0
Nebraska	0	0	0	0	0

at Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska

• Date: September 21
• Game time: 7:00 p.m.
• TV: FOX

Statistics	Illinois	Nebraska
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

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

at Penn State

See also: 2024 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) at Penn State Nittany Lions (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0
Penn State	0	0	0	0	0

at Beaver Stadium • University Park, Pennsylvania

• Date: September 28

Statistics	Illinois	Penn State
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

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

vs Purdue

See also: 2024 Purdue Boilermakers football team and Illinois–Purdue football rivalry

Pregame line	Over/under

Purdue Boilermakers (0-0) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	0	0	0	0	0
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: October 12

Statistics	Purdue	Illinois
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

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

vs Michigan

See also: 2024 Michigan Wolverines football team and Illinois–Michigan football series

Pregame line	Over/under

Michigan Wolverines (0-0) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan	0	0	0	0	0
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: October 19

Statistics	Michigan	Illinois
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

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

at Oregon

See also: 2024 Oregon Ducks football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) at Oregon Ducks (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0
Oregon	0	0	0	0	0

at Autzen Stadium • Eugene, Oregon

• Date: October 26

Statistics	Illinois	Oregon
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

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

vs Minnesota

See also: 2024 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Minnesota Golden Gophers (0-0) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota	0	0	0	0	0
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: November 2

Statistics	Minnesota	Illinois
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

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

vs Michigan State

See also: 2024 Michigan State Spartans football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Michigan State Spartans (0-0) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan State	0	0	0	0	0
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

• Date: November 16

Statistics	Michigan State	Illinois
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

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

at Rutgers

See also: 2024 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

Pregame line	Over/under

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0
Rutgers	0	0	0	0	0

at SHI Stadium • Piscataway, New Jersey

• Date: November 23

Statistics	Illinois	Rutgers
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

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

at Northwestern

See also: 2024 Northwestern Wildcats football team and Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry

Pregame line	Over/under

Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) at Northwestern Wildcats (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0
Northwestern	0	0	0	0	0

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

• Date: November 30

Statistics	Illinois	Northwestern
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

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

Rankings

Further information: 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: — = Not ranked

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