Illinois 2026 football schedule: Illini get perfect 3-0 cakewalk, Ohio State clash looming

Illinois 2026 football schedule: Illini get perfect 3-0 cakewalk, Ohio State clash looming originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Before Bret Bielema arrived in Champaign ahead of the 2021 season, it was hard to look at Illinois Fighting Illini football as anything but an afterthought. An irrelevant program, to put it lightly, that simply didn’t have a clear identity.

Over five years later, it has been anything but irrelevant thanks to Bielema’s leadership of the program. Several high-profile stars played for him since his arrival, including Seattle Seahawks safety Devon Witherspoon (who will play in Super Bowl 60 next Sunday), Denver Broncos wideout Pat Bryant and Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph, to name a few.

Illinois enters a new era this fall, though. Much of the team transferred out or opted to declare for this April’s NFL draft. The Illini arguably lost their most important player, regardless of position, in quarterback Luke Altmyer after three years under center and two bowl victories to show for it.

With fresh faces, including former East Carolina quarterback Katin Houser, the Illini will have to adapt fairly quickly to find success on a schedule that includes two College Football Playoff teams from this past season (Ohio State and Oregon), plus Bielema’s alma (Iowa Hawkeyes) and a team that never fails to rise up for rivalry weekend, especially at home (Northwestern Wildcats).

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If Illinois can enter its Big Ten opener against the Buckeyes unbeaten, it will have a chance to show AP voters its 19 wins over the past two seasons weren’t a fluke and that it does deserve to be considered amongst the elite of the conference.

Thus far under Bielema, there has been a trend. In the two years that end in an even number, Illinois has won eight or more games. In 2022, it finished 8-5, while in 2024, it finished 10-3. In contrast, the 2021 and 2023 seasons saw the Illini finish 5-7, as losses to the Hawkeyes (2021) and Wildcats (2023) derailed their bowl hopes.

Of course, this past season saw the Illini win nine games and be ranked in the AP Poll for much of the season. They even had an outside shot at a College Football Playoff berth before losses to the Washington Huskies and Wisconsin Badgers dampened what an otherwise successful nine-win year was.

Illinois draws seven home and five road games, with four Big Ten games taking place at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign.

The schedule was finalized Tuesday in coordination with the conference, with kickoff times and TV listings to follow.

Below is the game-by-game breakdown, including team-specific themes.

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