Illinois football vs. Northwestern Wildcats – Saturday, November 29 (No time set)
The final game of the season is a massive one. Illinois will have a chance to do something pretty special as long as they can get past the Northwestern Wildcats.
Northwestern was hot garbage last season, as they went 4-8 overall and 2-7 in the Big Ten. This included a 38-28 loss to Illinois to end the season.
The quarterback situation was a mess for the Wildcats, as Jack Lausch led the way with 1,792 yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He is not on the roster anymore, as he moved to the baseball team.
Preston Stone is now the starting quarterback. This is a massive upgrade over their prior situation, as in 2023, Stone threw for 3,197 yards, 28 touchdowns, and six interceptions with SMU. After four seasons with the Mustangs, he has now moved on to Northwestern.
While Stone is a nice upgrade, Northwestern doesn’t have much else. Illinois should be able to shut this team down. Their running game didn’t get off the ground, as each running back averaged fewer than 5.0 yards per carry.
The only returning player who had at least 100 yards receiving for the Wildcats last season is running back Cam Porter. Every other player has departed. Illinois' defense should cause all sorts of problems for Northwestern.
The Wildcats should be okay at run defense, but their pass defense is what will be their downfall defensively. They gave up 237.6 yards per game through the air last season, and that ranked No. 89 in the country. That bad pass defense lost their best safety, Devin Turner, to Baylor. He also led the team in interceptions. Northwestern’s leader with 10 pass deflections, Theran Johnson, is now with Oregon. Luke Altmyer should be able to pick apart a bad Wildcats’ secondary.
Final score: Illinois 48 – Northwestern 21
Final Illinois football record for 2025: 11-1 Overall (8-1 B1G)