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Illinois blows out Florida State with dominant offensive showing
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A statement win on the road. Illinois went south for its toughest early season test, defeating Florida State in Tallahassee on Sunday afternoon. The road environment was no deterrent to the Illini, who dominated the game, from early to late, resulting in an 86-63 victory. The pace set by the opening quarter […]
How to Watch Illinois vs. UTRGV: Game Time, TV Channel, Online Streaming and Odds
How to Watch Illinois vs. UTRGV Game Time: 7 p.m. Monday TV Channel: BTN Online Streaming: FOXSportsGO Odds: N/A (Illinois 97.4% Chance To Win – ESPN Matchup Predictor) Quick Hits: Illinois Fighting Illini (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten) Head Coach: Brad Underwood (9th season, 170-102) Last Game: Illinois 98, LIU 58 Gameday Reading: UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (2-3, 0-0 Southland) […]
FanDuel: Illinois opens as favorite for regular season finale
When Northwestern comes to Champaign next Saturday night for the regular season’s final game, the scuffling Illini are expected to come out on top. FanDuel Sportsbook on Sunday issued its opening line for the HAT matchup, and Illinois is a 6.5-point favorite. It’s the fourth consecutive game to close out the season that the Illini […]
Illini faceplant in epic Shakespearean tragedy in Madison
There is no positive spin for this one. Well, Luke Altmyer and Gabe Jacas’ final season in Champaign is going out with a sad whimper, and not a bang. The 27-10 drubbing at the hands of Luke Fickell’s Badgers sealed their fate. Regardless of what happens when a spry Northwestern squad closes the regular season […]
Illinois’ offensive line dominated in loss to Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — When it was announced in the spring of 2025 that four of the five offensive line starters from the 10-win Citrus Bowl champions Illinois team would be returning, many did not bat an eye. It is usually a good thing when fans do not talk about their offensive line — it means […]
Special teams miscues plague Illinois in loss to Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — In a highly contested road matchup against the Wisconsin Badgers, a sloppy performance from the special teams unit hampered the No. 21 Illinois Fighting Illini. Trailing by seven points with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation, the Illini were forced to punt things away. On what’s typically a routine exchange from […]
Badgers barrage Illini, 27-10, shellshock Illinois’ season
MADISON, Wis. — The ghost of Christmas past decided to taunt Bret Bielema at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday night. It was just a short decade ago when Bielema was viewed as the architect behind Wisconsin’s run towards Big Ten title games, with the old football spirits of JJ Watt, Russell Wilson and Melvin Gordon, […]
Wagler leads Illinois past Long Island in bounce-back game
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois keeps its non-conference momentum going and bounces back after Wednesday’s loss to Alabama, cruising past Long Island in an all-around scoring effort led by freshman guard Keaton Wagler and Cal transfer Andrej Stojakovic. After finding rhythm early behind efficient shooting across the board and domination in the paint, the Illini calmly […]
Illinois looks to surpass .500 on the road
Next up is a date in Madison, Wisconsin, at Camp Randal Stadium, Saturday, 6:30 p.m., on BTN vs. the 3-7 Wisconsin Badgers. The Illini are 7-3, but 2-2 on the road. Last Saturday, the Illini handled the Maryland Terrapins 24-6 for their second win in a row after two straight losses. They also have cracked […]
Things more accurate than Illinois’ free throws vs. Alabama
Illinois vs. Alabama was, simply put, a depressing loss. I was at the game on Wednesday night with a group of fellow alumni, buzzing with anticipation to watch the Illini play in front of a near-capacity crowd in Chicago, and it truly turned out to be quite the sight to behold. Witnessing the largest indoor […]
Barry Lunney Jr. prepares Illini offense against a stout Wisconsin front
Illinois’ offense has been the catalyst for the Fighting Illini’s success this season on the football field. Led by quarterback Luke Altmyer, who is playing his best football of his career, surrounded by a number of playmakers like Mr. Do-it-all Hank Beatty, the offense has been clicking. And with two games left in the regular […]
Can Bret Bielema build Illinois into the old Wisconsin?
On Saturday, the Illini face a familiar foe in a familiar spot. Bret Bielema returns to his old stomping grounds. He revisits the scene of his greatest success as a head coach. The story is well-known that Bielema won multiple conference championships as the head man at Wisconsin. He capitalized on Michigan and Ohio State […]
How to Watch Illinois at Wisconsin: Game Time, TV Channel, Online Streaming and Odds
How to Watch No. 21 (CFP) Illinois at Wisconsin Game Time: 6:30 p.m. Saturday TV Channel: BTN Online Streaming: FoxSportsGO Odds: ILL -8.5, O/U 41.5 Quick Hits: Illinois Fighting Illini (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) Head Coach: Bret Bielema (5th season) Last Game: 24-6 win over Maryland Gameday Reading: Wisconsin Badgers (3-7, 1-6 Big Ten) Head coach: Luck Fickell (3rd […]
How to Watch Illinois vs. Long Island: Game Time, TV Channel, Online Streaming and Odds
How to Watch Illinois vs. Long Island Game Time: 1 p.m. Saturday TV Channel: N/A Online Streaming: BTN+ Odds: N/A (Illinois 98.7% Chance To Win – ESPN Matchup Predictor) Quick Hits: Illinois Fighting Illini (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) Head Coach: Brad Underwood (9th season, 169-102) Last Game: Alabama 90, Illinois 86 Gameday Reading: Long Island Sharks (3-2, 0-0 NEC) Head […]
‘Lot of great memories’: Bielema ready for second Madison return
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The No. 21 Illini are hitting the road for the last time this regular season, as they’ll be making the trip up north to take on the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. Although this is an away game, Madison is a familiar place for Illinois head coach Bret Bielema, […]
Free throws doom Illinois in United Center loss to Alabama
CHICAGO — In Illinois’ first regular season game at the United Center in seven years, the Illini felt the love from thousands of fans dressed in orange and blue. But Alabama sophomore guard Labaron Philon had other plans as he took over late in a back-and-forth battle that ended with the Crimson Tide winning 90-86 […]
Small details erased Illinois’ chance for statement win: ‘Need to learn how not to lose’
CHICAGO — Tuesday night was poised to become a battle of moments. For the longest time, it looked like whoever had the biggest would take home an elusive ranked nonconference win on an exhilarating night at the United Center. All night, No. 8 Illinois’ Andrej Stojakovic was determined to lift the Illini to a win […]
How small details erased big moments, potential for Illinois statement win: ‘We need to learn how not to lose’
CHICAGO — Tuesday night was poised to become a battle of moments. For the longest time, it looked like whoever had the biggest would take home an elusive ranked nonconference win on an exhilarating night at the United Center. All night, No. 8 Illinois’ Andrej Stojakovic was determined to lift the Illini to a win […]
Are the Illini ready to take the next step?
When it comes to college sports, you often hear about tiers. Should the Illini win out, it will be the first time in school history that they will have had back-to-back regular seasons of 9 or more wins. During the first three years of Bret Bielema (2021-23), Illinois was 18-19. The Illini are currently 17-6 […]
Starting today, comments and Feed posts on The Champaign Room will have activity notifications
When you post on SB Nation, we don’t want you to miss all the conversations and responses that follow. So starting today, whenever a user replies to your comment or to your post on the Feed, you’ll see a notification at the top right corner of the page. And of course, this means that when […]
United Center Game Returns: Illinois’ history in Chicago
Illinois basketball will host Alabama on Wednesday for a regular season game inside the United Center for the first time since 2018. The Illini played a regular-season game in Chicago every season (except for 2009) dating back to 1994 before their last appearance in 2018. Head coach Brad Underwood did not continue the United Center […]
Illinois schools Murray State on Field Trip Day
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Murray State came to town on Tuesday morning, but Illinois quickly taught them a lesson that that’s not a wise idea. The Illini routed the Racers 84-64 on Field Trip Day at State Farm Center in front of 14,000 people, many of whom were children from around central Illinois. Sophomore Berry Wallace […]
Field Trip Day takes over Champaign
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Walking over to the State Farm Center Tuesday morning, I can’t lie, I was feeling pretty tired. Between the nasty Champaign weather and the start of finals season, it was a foggy morning. However, when 10,000 screaming kids greeted me, it definitely jolted me awake. As someone who attended the men’s game […]
Illinois appears in College Football Playoff rankings
For the first time this year, Illinois is ranked in the CFP Top 25. The Illini checked in Tuesday night at No. 21, marking the second straight season the Orange and Blue found themselves ranked in mid-November. While you shouldn’t expect the 7-3 Illini to still find their way into the 12-team playoff, it’s quite […]
Scouting Alabama as Illinois looks for another top-15 win
Following a big week where Illinois fended off JT Toppin and Texas Tech at home before a ho-hum, sleepy win against Toothpaste University, Brad Underwood’s squad has another big challenge coming up on Wednesday night. The Illini head two-and-a-half hours north on I-57 (or maybe they fly) to take on Alabama at the United Center. […]
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