American college football season
2018 Illinois Fighting Illini football Conference Big Ten Conference Division West Division 2018 record 4–8 (2–7 Big Ten) Head coach Offensive coordinator Rod Smith (1st season)Offensive scheme Multiple Defensive coordinator Hardy Nickerson (3rd season)Base defense 4-3 Home stadium Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 60,670)Seasons
The 2018 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2018 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 third-year head coach Lovie Smith . They finished the season 4–8, 2–7 in Big Ten play finish in last place in the West Division.
Previous season [ ]
The Fighting Illini finished the 2017 season 2–10, 0–9 in Big Ten play to finish in last place in the West Division.
Offseason [ ]
Recruiting [ ]
Position key [ ]
Back
B
Center
C
Cornerback
CB
Defensive back
DB
Defensive end
DE
Defensive lineman
DL
Defensive tackle
DT
End
E
Fullback
FB
Guard
G
Halfback
HB
Kicker
K
Kickoff returner
KR
Offensive tackle
OT
Offensive lineman
OL
Linebacker
LB
Long snapper
LS
Punter
P
Punt returner
PR
Quarterback
QB
Running back
RB
Safety
S
Tight end
TE
Wide receiver
WR
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 September 1 11:00 a.m. Kent State * BTN W 31–2431,898
September 8 6:30 p.m. Western Illinois * Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL BTN W 34–1439,252
September 15 2:30 p.m. vs. South Florida * BTN L 19–2521,725
8:00 p.m. No. 10 Penn State Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL FS1 L 24–6334,704
October 6 11:00 a.m. at Rutgers BTN W 38–1736,702
October 13 2:30 p.m. Purdue Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry ) FS1 L 7–4641,966
October 20 11:00 a.m. at No. 23 Wisconsin Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI FS1 L 20–4979,736
October 27 2:30 p.m. at Maryland BTN L 33–6330,387
November 3 2:30 p.m. Minnesota Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL BTN W 55–3135,774
November 10 11:00 a.m. at Nebraska Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE BTN L 35–5488,316
November 17 2:30 p.m. Iowa Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL BTN L 0–6333,313
November 24 2:30 p.m. at No. 20 Northwestern BTN L 16–2437,124
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time
Schedule Source: [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 [ ]
Players drafted into the NFL [ ]
Round
Pick
Player
Position
NFL Club
7
216
Nick Allegretti
C
Kansas City Chiefs
References [ ]
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold