Fans and Friday night’s game to pay homage to football legend Dick Butkus
Butkis was a star linebacker, fullback and kicker at Chicago Vocational High who went on to play at the University of Illinois.
Tag: Fighting Illini Football
Dick Butkus, fearsome Hall of Fame Chicago Bears linebacker, dies at 80
Butkus was a Hall of Famer whose bone-rattling tackles made him one of the most intimidating players in NFL history.
3rd-quarter scoring flurry leads Boilermakers to 44-19 rout over Illinois in battle for The Cannon
Illinois has lost four straight in this rivalry and all three in coach Bret Bielema’s tenure. The Fighting Illini finished with nine penalties, one turnover that Purdue recovered for a touchdown and five sacks allowed.
Altmyer bounces back, leads Illinois comeback win over Florida Atlantic, 23-17
It was a bounce-back game for Altmyer, who threw four interceptions in the 30-13 loss to Penn State last week and was benched in the fourth quarter.
No. 7 Penn State defense gets five takeaways and pulls away from Illinois in 30-13 victory
Cam Miller, Abdul Carter, Daequan Dixon and Johnny Hardy had interceptions and No. 7 Penn State took advantage of five Illinois turnovers to beat the Illini 30-13.
No. 7 Nittany Lions ready for hostile crowd when they play against Illinois team eager for upset
Penn State coach James Franklin said his team knows what to expect, especially with the Illini promoting an “orange-out.”
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels headlines 34-23 victory over Illinois in season debut
The Illini’s Luke Altmyer threw for 202 yards and a touchdown while running for 70 and two more scores, but he also was picked off twice in the game.
Caleb Griffin kicks 29-yard FG in closing seconds to give Illinois 30-28 win over Toledo
Miles Scott returned an interception 48 yards for a score, and the Illini squeezed out the win in a back-and-forth game to start coach Bret Bielema’s third season.
Big Ten is ready for maximum exposure with games on NBC, CBS and Fox
On Saturday, September 2, Illinois will take on Toledo at Memorial Stadium at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on BTN.
Illinois, fresh off bowl trip and 8-win season, has ‘unfinished business’ as opener draws near
The Illini finished 8-5 in coach Bret Bielema’s second year after 10 straight losing seasons, placed second in the Big Ten West, played in a bowl game for the first time since 2019 and had four NFL draft picks.
A popular football video game will be back next year – and University of Illinois players may be characters.
University of Illinois INFLUENCE Program (NIL) Coordinator Kamron Cox anticipates athletes will opt to participate in the game and will get a few hundred dollars for doing so.
Mississippi St beats Illinois in 1st game since Leach death
No. 24 Mississippi State rallied to beat Illinois 19-10 in the ReliaQuest Bowl. It was the Bulldogs’ first game since coach Mike Leach died on Dec. 12 due to complications from a heart condition.
Illinois to face Mississippi State in ReliaQuest Bowl Jan. 2
CHAMPAIGN — The Fighting Illini football team is headed to Florida. The team announced Sunday afternoon that it has accepted an invitation to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa on Jan. 2. They’ll face the Mississippi State Bulldogs from the SEC. Both teams finished with 8-4 regular season records. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema
Illinois rips Northwestern, falls short in Big Ten West bid
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Safety Sydney Brown returned a touchdown and an interception for scores and Illinois snapped a three-game losing streak with a 41-3 rout of Northwestern. Brown raced 53 yards for a touchdown after Northwestern quarterback Cole Freeman fumbled, then sprinted in for a 39-yard score off an interception, both in the third
Illinois defense shuts down Iowa 9-6
CHAMPAIGN — On back-to-back possessions in the second quarter of Saturday night’s game against Iowa, Illinois muffed a punt at their own 35-yard line and fumbled on their own five-yard line. Iowa could only score a total of three points off those two turnovers. An Illinois defense that head coach Bret Bielema calls “the best