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Believe it or not, Illinois football has never played these FBS teams

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 27: A general view of Memorial Stadium during the first quarter between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Wyoming Cowboys on August 27, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 27: A general view of Memorial Stadium during the first quarter between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Wyoming Cowboys on August 27, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – NOVEMBER 10: A detailed view of the Conference USA logo during a game between the University of Houston Cougars and the Tulane Green Wave being held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 10, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Houston defeated Tulane 73-17. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – NOVEMBER 10: A detailed view of the Conference USA logo during a game between the University of Houston Cougars and the Tulane Green Wave being held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 10, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Houston defeated Tulane 73-17. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Conference USA

  • North Texas Mean Green

Conference USA is full of teams that could easily be scheduled in the Illinois non-conference. Teams like North Texas haven’t had a chance to play us, though. The Mean Green has been a solid team in the last decade. They have made six bowl games in the last seven seasons.

  • UAB Blazers

It is no surprise that Illinois hasn’t matched up against UAB in the history of the program. The Blazers started back in 1996 and even took three seasons off before coming back in 2017. UAB has been great since returning to college football, making a bowl game in five out of the past six seasons.

  • Florida Atlantic Owls

Another team that doesn’t have a long history is Florida Atlantic. The Owls started in the FBS back in 2004 with Howard Schnellenberger leading the away. They were a member of the Sun Belt before moving to Conference USA in 2013. Illinois hasn’t played the Owls in that short 19-season span.

  • Rice Owls

Out of all the Conference USA programs to surprise me, Rice is the No. 1 school. They started back in 1914 and have been going since then. I am shocked Illinois hasn’t run into the Owls in some form or fashion in that span of time.

  • UTEP Miners

UTEP has a surprisingly long history of college football. They started in 1935 and have seen some success. As of late, though, they have only made one bowl game in the last eight seasons. This would have been a good time for Illinois to schedule the Miners.

  • Florida International Golden Panthers

The last team coming out of Conference USA is Florida International. They joined the Sun Belt in 2004 and have been a pretty bad team since. They have made five bowl games and were coached for four seasons by former Illinois head coach, Ron Turner. That is the only connection the Illini have to the Golden Panthers.

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