American college football season
2018 Illinois Fighting Illini football |
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Conference | Big Ten Conference |
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Division | West Division |
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Record | 4–8 (2–7 Big Ten) |
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Head coach | |
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Offensive coordinator | Rod Smith (1st season) |
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Offensive scheme | Multiple |
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Defensive coordinator | Hardy Nickerson (3rd season) |
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Base defense | 4–3 |
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Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
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Seasons |
The 2018 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign as a member of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by third-year head coach Lovie Smith, the Fighting Illini compiled an overall record of 4–8 with a mark of 2–7 in conference play, placing last out of seven teams in the Big Ten's West Division. Illinois played home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.
Offseason
Recruiting
Position key
Recruits
The Fighting Illini signed a total of 17 recruits on Early National Signing Day on December 20, 2017.
Award watch lists
Listed in the order that they were released
Schedule
The 2018 schedule consisted of seven home and five away games in the regular season. The Fighting Illini hosted Big Ten foes Penn State, Purdue, Minnesota, Iowa, and traveled to Rutgers, Wisconsin, Maryland, Nebraska and Northwestern.[3]
The Fighting Illini hosted all three non-conference opponents, Kent State from the Mid-American Conference, Western Illinois from Missouri Valley Football Conference, and South Florida from the American Athletic Conference. The South Florida game was played at Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears.
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 1 | 11:00 a.m. | Kent State* | | BTN | W 31–24 | 31,898 |
September 8 | 6:30 p.m. | Western Illinois* | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| BTN | W 34–14 | 39,252 |
September 15 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. South Florida* | | BTN | L 19–25 | 21,725 |
September 21 | 8:00 p.m. | No. 10 Penn State | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| FS1 | L 24–63 | 34,704 |
October 6 | 11:00 a.m. | at Rutgers | | BTN | W 38–17 | 36,702 |
October 13 | 2:30 p.m. | Purdue | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL (rivalry)
| FS1 | L 7–46 | 41,966 |
October 20 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 23 Wisconsin | | FS1 | L 20–49 | 79,736 |
October 27 | 2:30 p.m. | at Maryland | | BTN | L 33–63 | 30,387 |
November 3 | 2:30 p.m. | Minnesota | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| BTN | W 55–31 | 35,774 |
November 10 | 11:00 a.m. | at Nebraska | | BTN | L 35–54 | 88,316 |
November 17 | 2:30 p.m. | Iowa | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| BTN | L 0–63 | 33,313 |
November 24 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 20 Northwestern | | BTN | L 16–24 | 37,124 |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Central time
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[3]
Game summaries
Kent State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Golden Flashes | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
Fighting Illini | 3 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 31 |
Western Illinois
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Leathernecks | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Fighting Illini | 0 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 34 |
South Florida
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Bulls | 7 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 25 |
Fighting Illini | 10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
Penn State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 10 Nittany Lions | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 | 63 |
Fighting Illini | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
At Rutgers
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Fighting Illini | 10 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 38 |
Scarlet Knights | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
Purdue
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Boilermakers | 14 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 46 |
Fighting Illini | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
At Wisconsin
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Fighting Illini | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
No. 23 Badgers | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
At Maryland
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Fighting Illini | 3 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 33 |
Terrapins | 14 | 14 | 21 | 14 | 63 |
Minnesota
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Golden Gophers | 7 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 31 |
Fighting Illini | 14 | 10 | 21 | 10 | 55 |
At Nebraska
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Fighting Illini | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
Cornhuskers | 21 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 54 |
Iowa
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Hawkeyes | 7 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 63 |
Fighting Illini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
At Northwestern
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Fighting Illini | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
No. 20 Wildcats | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
Roster
Awards and honors
Individual Awards Player | Award | Ref. |
Chase McLaughlin | Bakken–Andersen Kicker of the Year | [4] |
Players drafted into the NFL
References
- ^ "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ a b "Illinois Athletics - Football Future Schedules". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "2018 All-Big Ten Football Teams and Individual Award Recipients" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 28, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
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Venues | - Illinois Field (1890–1922)
- Memorial Stadium (1923–present)
- Soldier Field (1994–present)
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |