The 2018 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. In their third season under head coach Lovie Smith, the Fighting Illini compiled a 4–8 record (2–7 in conference games), finished in last place out of seven teams in the Big Ten's West Division, and were outscored by a total of 473 to 312.[1]
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback AJ Bush (1,413 passing yards), running back Reggie Corbin (1,085 rushing yards, 8.5 yards per attempt), wide receiver Ricky Smalling (33 receptions for 406 yards), and kicker Chase McLaughlin (96 points scored, 36 of 36 extra points, 20 of 25 field goals).[2] McLaughlin was the only Illinois player to receive first-team honors on the 2018 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[3]
The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.
Offseason
Recruiting
Position key
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.[6]
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 31–24 | 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 | - 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
|
[6]
Game summaries
Kent State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Golden Flashes
|
7
|
10
|
7
|
0 |
24 |
| Fighting Illini
|
3
|
0
|
21
|
7 |
31 |
Western Illinois
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Leathernecks
|
7
|
0
|
7
|
0 |
14 |
| Fighting Illini
|
0
|
14
|
10
|
10 |
34 |
South Florida
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Bulls
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
18 |
25 |
| Fighting Illini
|
10
|
6
|
3
|
0 |
19 |
Penn State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| No. 10 Nittany Lions
|
7
|
14
|
7
|
35 |
63 |
| Fighting Illini
|
7
|
10
|
7
|
0 |
24 |
At Rutgers
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Fighting Illini
|
10
|
14
|
0
|
14 |
38 |
| Scarlet Knights
|
7
|
7
|
0
|
3 |
17 |
Purdue
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Boilermakers
|
14
|
15
|
7
|
10 |
46 |
| Fighting Illini
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
0 |
7 |
At Wisconsin
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Fighting Illini
|
0
|
10
|
7
|
3 |
20 |
| No. 23 Badgers
|
14
|
14
|
14
|
7 |
49 |
At Maryland
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Fighting Illini
|
3
|
6
|
10
|
14 |
33 |
| Terrapins
|
14
|
14
|
21
|
14 |
63 |
Minnesota
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Golden Gophers
|
7
|
10
|
0
|
14 |
31 |
| Fighting Illini
|
14
|
10
|
21
|
10 |
55 |
At Nebraska
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Fighting Illini
|
14
|
7
|
0
|
14 |
35 |
| Cornhuskers
|
21
|
17
|
7
|
9 |
54 |
Iowa
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Hawkeyes
|
7
|
28
|
14
|
14 |
63 |
| Fighting Illini
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0 |
0 |
At Northwestern
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
References
- ^ "2018 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
- ^ "2018 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
- ^ "Big Ten Announces Football All-Conference Teams for Defense and Special Teams and Select Individual Honors". Big Ten Conference. November 27, 2018. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- ^ "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ a b "Illinois Athletics – Football Future Schedules". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "2018 All-Big Ten Football Teams and Individual Award Recipients" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 28, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
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| People | |
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National championship seasons in bold |
