American college football season
The 2021 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented[1] 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 team's 20-18 victory over Penn State set a NCAA Football record for the most overtime periods in one game, with nine.
Coaching staff [ ]
Name
Position
Consecutive season at
Bret Bielema Head Coach 1st
Tony Petersen Offensive Coordinator 1st
Ryan Walters Defensive Coordinator 1st
Ben Miller Tight Ends Coach/Special Teams Coordinator
1st
George McDonald Wide Receivers Coach / Assistant Head Coach
1st
Bart Miller
Offensive Line Coach
1st
Cory Patterson
Running Backs Coach
4th
Terrance Jamison
Defensive Line Coach
1st
Andy Buh
Linebackers Coach
1st
Kevin Kane Outside Linebackers Coach / Assistant Head Coach
1st
Aaron Henry
Defensive Backs Coach
1st
Schedule [ ] Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance August 28 12:00 p.m. Nebraska FOX W 30–22 41,064 September 4 6:30 p.m. UTSA * Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL BTN L 30–37 33,906
September 11 10:00 a.m. at Virginia * ACCN L 14–42 36,036
8:00 p.m. Maryland Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL FS1 L 17–20 37,168
September 25 2:30 p.m. at Purdue BTN L 9–13 52,840
October 2 11:00 a.m. Charlotte * Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL BTN W 24–14 30,559
October 9 2:30 p.m. Wisconsin Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL BTN L 0–24 40,168
October 23 11:00 a.m. at No. 7 Penn State ABC W 20–18 9OT 105,001
October 30 11:00 a.m. Rutgers Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL BTN L 14–20 36,942
November 6 11:00 a.m. at No. 20 Minnesota Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN ESPN2 W 14–6 46,382
November 20 1:00 p.m. at No. 17 Iowa FS1 L 23–33 64,132
November 27 2:30 p.m. Northwestern BTN W 47–14 27,624
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings , after November 2) - Released prior to game All times are in Central time Source: [3]
^ 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 .[2]
Roster [ ] Game summaries [ ] Nebraska [ ]
1
2
3
4
Total
Cornhuskers
0
9
7
6
22
Fighting Illini
2
14
14
0
30
UTSA [ ]
1
2
3
4
Total
Roadrunners
7
13
3
14
37
Fighting Illini
0
14
3
13
30
Virginia [ ]
1
2
3
4
Total
Fighting Illini
0
7
7
0
14
Cavaliers
14
7
14
7
42
Maryland [ ]
1
2
3
4
Total
Terrapins
0
3
7
10
20
Fighting Illini
0
3
7
7
17
Purdue [ ]
1
2
3
4
Total
Fighting Illini
0
3
3
3
9
Boilermakers
6
0
0
7
13
Charlotte [ ]
1
2
3
4
Total
49ers
7
7
0
0
14
Fighting Illini
3
7
14
0
24
Wisconsin [ ]
1
2
3
4
Total
Wisconsin
3
7
14
0
24
Fighting Illini
0
0
0
0
0
Penn State [ ]
1
2
3
4 OT
Total
Fighting Illini
0
7
0
3 10
20
No. 7 Nitanny Lions
7
3
0
0 8
18
Rutgers [ ]
1
2
3
4
Total
Scarlet Knights
7
3
0
10
20
Fighting Illini
0
14
0
0
14
No. 20 Minnesota [ ]
1
2
3
4
Total
Fighting Illini
7
7
0
0
14
No. 20 Golden Gophers
0
0
0
6
6
No. 17 Iowa [ ]
1
2
3
4
Total
Fighting Illini
10
3
3
7
23
No. 17 Hawkeyes
7
10
3
13
33
Northwestern [ ]
1
2
3
4
Total
Wildcats
0
7
0
7
14
Fighting Illini
14
23
3
7
47
Illinois-Northwestern football rivalry
References [ ]
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
