American college football season
The 2018 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign as a member of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by third-year head coach Lovie Smith, the Fighting Illini compiled an overall record of 4–8 with a mark of 2–7 in conference play, placing last out of seven teams in the Big Ten's West Division. Illinois played home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.
The Fighting Illini signed a total of 17 recruits on Early National Signing Day on December 20, 2017.
Listed in the order that they were released
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 |
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September 1 | 11:00 a.m. | Kent State* | | BTN | W 31–24 | 31,898 |
September 8 | 6:30 p.m. | Western Illinois* | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| BTN | W 34–14 | 39,252 |
September 15 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. South Florida* | | BTN | L 19–25 | 21,725 |
| 8:00 p.m. | No. 10 Penn State | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| FS1 | L 24–63 | 34,704 |
October 6 | 11:00 a.m. | at Rutgers | | BTN | W 38–17 | 36,702 |
October 13 | 2:30 p.m. | Purdue![dagger](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Dagger-14-plain.png) | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL (rivalry)
| FS1 | L 7–46 | 41,966 |
October 20 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 23 Wisconsin | | FS1 | L 20–49 | 79,736 |
October 27 | 2:30 p.m. | at Maryland | | BTN | L 33–63 | 30,387 |
November 3 | 2:30 p.m. | Minnesota | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| BTN | W 55–31 | 35,774 |
November 10 | 11:00 a.m. | at Nebraska | | BTN | L 35–54 | 88,316 |
November 17 | 2:30 p.m. | Iowa | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| BTN | L 0–63 | 33,313 |
November 24 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 20 Northwestern | | BTN | L 16–24 | 37,124 |
- *Non-conference game
Homecoming- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Central time
|
[3]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Golden Flashes | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
Fighting Illini | 3 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 31 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Leathernecks | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Fighting Illini | 0 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 34 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Bulls | 7 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 25 |
Fighting Illini | 10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 10 Nittany Lions | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 | 63 |
Fighting Illini | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Fighting Illini | 10 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 38 |
Scarlet Knights | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Boilermakers | 14 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 46 |
Fighting Illini | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Fighting Illini | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
No. 23 Badgers | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Fighting Illini | 3 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 33 |
Terrapins | 14 | 14 | 21 | 14 | 63 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Golden Gophers | 7 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 31 |
Fighting Illini | 14 | 10 | 21 | 10 | 55 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Fighting Illini | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
Cornhuskers | 21 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 54 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Hawkeyes | 7 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 63 |
Fighting Illini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Fighting Illini | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
No. 20 Wildcats | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
Players drafted into the NFL
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National championship seasons in bold |