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2021 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 2021 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented[1] the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Fighting Illini played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Bret Bielema. The Illini finished the season 5–7, 4–5 in Big Ten play to finish in fifth place in the West division.[2]

The team's 20–18 victory over No. 7-ranked Penn State set a NCAA record for the most overtime periods in one game, with nine.[3]

Preseason

Big Ten media poll

The Illini were predicted to finish seventh in the Big Ten's West Division.[4]

Schedule

  1. ^ Illinois and Nebraska were originally scheduled to play at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. The game was moved back to the United States due to travel concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Game summaries

Nebraska

Nebraska Cornhuskers at Illinois Fighting Illini – Game summary

at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois

  • Date: August 28
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 94 °F (34 °C)
  • Game attendance: 41,064
  • Referee: John O'Neill
  • TV announcers (FOX): Joe Davis and Brock Huard
  • Box score, Recap

UTSA

UTSA Roadrunners at Illinois Fighting Illini – Game summary

at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois

  • Date: September 4
  • Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 73 °F (23 °C)
  • Game attendance: 33,906
  • Referee: Greg Blum
  • TV announcers (BTN): Lisa Byington, Anthony Herron, and Coley Harvey
  • Box score, Recap

Virginia

Illinois Fighting Illini at Virginia Cavaliers – Game summary

at Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, Virginia

  • Date: September 11
  • Game time: 10:00 a.m. CDT/11:00 a.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny
  • Game attendance: 36,036
  • Referee: Jeffrey Servinski
  • TV: ACCN
  • Box score, Recap

Maryland

Illinois Fighting Illini (1–2) vs. Maryland Terrapins (2–0)

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL

  • Date: Saturday, September 17, 2021
  • Game time: 9:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 75°F
  • Game attendance: 37,168
  • Referee: Ron Snodgrass
  • TV: FS1
  • Pregame line:

[7]

Purdue

Illinois Fighting Illini at Purdue Boilermakers – Game summary

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

  • Date: September 25
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Sunny
  • Game attendance: 52,840
  • Referee: John O'Neill
  • TV: BTN
  • Box score, Recap

Charlotte

Wisconsin

Wisconsin vs Illinois – Game summary

at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois

  • Date: October 9, 2021
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: 84 °F (29 °C); Sunny; Wind at n/a MPH
  • Game attendance: 40,168
  • Referee: Mark Kluczynski
  • TV: BTN

At. No. 7 Penn State

Illinois Fighting Illini at No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions – Game summary

at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania

  • Date: October 23
  • Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT/12:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Rain, 48 °F (9 °C)
  • Game attendance: 105,001
  • Referee: Reggie Smith
  • TV announcers (ABC): Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky, and Kris Budden
  • Box score, Recap

Rutgers

No. 20 Minnesota

No. 17 Iowa

Northwestern

References

  1. ^ Yahoo Sports College Football. "Yahoo Sports College Football on Twitter: "The following teams reached win No. 6 this weekend and are bowl eligible: - Ball State - Florida - LSU - Maryland - Memphis - Middle Tennessee - North Texas - Old Dominion - Tulsa - Virginia Tech - West Virginia There are 83 bowl eligible teams for 82 spots. No 5-7 teams". Twitter. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "2021 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  3. ^ "Illinois outlasts Penn State in record-breaking nine overtimes". RSN. October 23, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  4. ^ Baird, Nathan (July 21, 2021). "Ohio State voted overwhelming favorite in 2021 Cleveland.com Preseason Big Ten Poll". Cleveland.com.
  5. ^ "2021 College Football Game moved from Aviva Stadium". CollegeFootballIreland.com. February 17, 2021. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  6. ^ "2021 Illinois Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "Maryland vs. Illinois - Game Summary - September 17, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  8. ^ "GAME NOTES: Charlotte at Illinois". September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "Second Half Surge Carries Illini Past Charlotte, 24-14". October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  10. ^ "Scoring Summary Report 2021 Charlotte Football, Charlotte Vs Illinois (Oct 02, 2021 at Champaign, Illinois)" (PDF). Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  11. ^ "Charlotte vs Illinois – Game Summary". ESPN. October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  12. ^ Bailey, Hunter (October 4, 2021). "Charlotte runs aground against Illinois: How the Illini held off the 49ers". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  13. ^ "TPA:Charlotte at Illinois". Charlotte49ers.com. October 3, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2021.