It’s finally here. The last opponent on Northwestern Football’s schedule to be previewed. The battle for the Land of Lincoln Trophy, also known as The Hat, sees the ‘Cats travel down I-57 to face their in-state rivals. The Illini are coming off an extremely successful season and find themselves ranked at No. 12 in 2025’s first AP Poll.
The Basics
Returning Production: 75% overall (78% offense, 72% defense); 4th in FBS
2024 Record: 10-3 (6-3 B1G)
Head Coach: Bret Bielema (fifth season)
The Stats
2025 SP+ Overall: 19th
2025
SP+ Offense: 28th
2025 SP+ Defense: 20th
2025 SP+ Special Teams: 30th
2024 Capsule
Illinois was projected to finish in the middle of the Big Ten in 2024, around 5-7. The Illini didn’t just meet this projection but far exceeded it, capping off their season with a bowl victory to get to double-digit wins. The team in 2024 was very similar to what it was in 2023. The key difference was that they consistently won against comparable or slightly weaker teams and lost to stronger ones, while in 2023 their performance was far less predictable. Coming into 2025, it’s yet to be seen whether Illinois will be more like the 2023 team or the 2024 team.
Offensive Overview
Illinois was led by quarterback Luke Altmyer in his second season as the starter in 2024. His production changed from 2023 to 2024, but his play at the core still seemed fairly similar across both seasons. Headed into 2025, he’s projected to be the starter for his third season. For the Illini to continue to see success in explosive passing plays like they did in 2024, it isn’t just on Altmyer as they need the rest of the roster to continue to support him or find new guys to fill those roles.
Illinois does return three of its three rushers from 2024 though. Running backs Aidan Laughery, Ca’Lil Valentine and Kaden Feagin are all back, but it’s hard to say who will be the true lead rusher as Laughery was the best behind transfer Josh McCray last season, while Feagin was fed the most before going down with in injury early in the season. At tight end, Cole Rusk and Tanner Arkin are expected to be the two leaders. Arkin is more of a blocker but was thrusted into more of a receiver role after Rusk went down with injury before the season started. Tanner Hollinger also returns after redshirting in 2024 and is looking to crack the rotation. Illinois also brought in FCS transfer Davin Stoffel from South Dakota State to add even more to this room.
The unit facing the biggest challenges for Illinois is the wide receiver room. Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin were by far the team’s leading receivers in 2024, but both are now in the NFL. For the returning players, Hank Beatty saw the most action even though he caught just 20 passes. Collin Dixon, Malik Elzy and Alexander Capka-Jones all return, with Dixon seeing the most action last season but still all being stuck behind Bryant and Franklin. The most likely scenario for replacing the production of the two guys last season will be from transfers Hudson Clement from Virginia and Justin Bowick from Ball State. The Illini also have true first-year Brayden Trimble, who stood out in spring practices.
Compared to 2023, the 2024 offensive line was much more stable for Illinois. J.C. Davis and Melvin Priestly transferred in and played at the tackle positions all season long. Both guys return for 2025 along with Josh Kreutz, who has never missed a game in what will now be his third year starting at center. Josh Gesky and Brandon Henderson return as well to remain as the starting guards for this offensive line. While both were benched during the season, they are expected to return to how it was at the start of the year. The rest of the offensive line room is a bit uncertain, with some returners who didn’t see much time and some transfers who might not see much time this upcoming season. The stability from 2024 carrying over into 2025 should see some improvement for the line overall, but with depth being a big unknown, there is serious risk if something goes wrong.
Defensive Overview
Last season, the biggest weakness for Illinois defensively was its run defense. The defensive line is likely to be headlined by transfers, including Curt Neal and James Thompson Jr. from Wisconsin, and Tomiwa Durojaiye who is now on his fourth team in four years (he’s played in every power conference now: Kentucky in the SEC, West Virginia in the Big 12, Florida State in the ACC and now Illinois in the Big Ten). Neal has been a solid nose tackle for the Badgers the past two seasons, while Thompson Jr. is returning off an injury suffered in 2024 but will presumably get a starting spot if he’s healthy. Outside of Neal and Thompson Jr., the returning production is pretty lackluster and Durojaiye’s record doesn’t jump off the page. Overall though, the depth does seem to be fairly balanced.
The outside linebacker spot sees the return of Gabe Jacas, who had some NFL Draft buzz. Jacas’s numbers as a pass rusher are very appealing, but his run defense and coverage skills are a bit of a liability. Alec Bryant and Joe Barna both returns to likely fill their same roles as backup OLB’s like they played in last season. Illinois also added a transfer here: Wisconsin’s Leon Lowery Jr. He started last year for the Badgers and the previous two for Syracuse, so his experience combined should see him slot right into the starting role opposite of Jacas. For the off-ball backers, it’s been Dylan Rosiek as the main guy the last two seasons. Rosiek got hurt late in the season, which saw James Kreutz, Malachi Hood and Kenenna Odeluga all see increased playing time. These four guys all return with Rosiek being the only player almost guaranteed a starting spot. JUCO linebacker Ismael Kante also has a shot to crack the rotation and even start alongside Rosiek. The off-ball linebacker group has carried the largest responsibility on this Illini defense when it comes to preventing the run.
In the secondary, leading tackler from 2024 Matthew Bailey returns as the starting box safety. Saboor Karirem is the name to know behind Bailey if for any reason Bailey missed time or was benched. Defensive back Xavier Scott is the slot, but plays more as a nickel safety focused on zone coverage and run support. Scott has been one of the better players on this defense and has seen year-to-year growth in his role. The higher safety position has been manned down by Miles Scott the past two seasons. He plays a huge role in baiting opposing quarterbacks to throw into coverage, which helped the Illini safety unit force eight interceptions and 17 pass breakups in 2024. At outside corner, almost everyone returns, with Kaleb Patterson, Jaheim Clarke and Torrie Cox Jr. being the names to know. This secondary is basically identical to how it was a season ago, which is a huge strength for this defense. Teams playing against Illinois should primarily stick to running the football.
