The 2025 college football season is still months away, but as the calendar year of collegiate sports comes to an end, fans are eagerly awaiting kickoff.
Last season, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema led the Fighting Illini to an impressive fifth-place finish in the highly competitive Big Ten and a 10-3 overall record, including a bowl game victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Now, as Bielema heads toward his fifth season as Illinois' head coach, he looks to improve upon his success from last year. Here is a game-by-game prediction for the Fighting Illini's upcoming season:
The in-state opponent, Western Illinois, shouldn't pose a very large threat to the Fighting Illini in their first game of the season.
As Illinois hopes to kick off its season with a big-time win, Bielema should easily lead his team to a double-digit victory over the Leathernecks.
- Projected score vs. Western Illinois: 53-10
- Projected record: 1-0
Unfortunately, Bielema's win streak most likely won't extend through game two (so it won't be much of a streak) as he and the Illini visit the Duke Blue Devils.
Duke's head coach, Manny Diaz, has done a fantastic job of turning the program around, and playing against the Blue Devils at home isn't something to scoff at, even though they aren't even an ACC powerhouse.
The game will be close, but Duke will walk away with the narrow victory, dropping the Fighting Illini back to a .500 record.
- Projected score vs. Duke: 27-30
- Projected record: 1-1
Similar to the matchup with the Western Illinois Leathernecks, Illinois' game against the Western Michigan Broncos shouldn't be a difficult challenge.
However, the Fighting Illini offense might be slowed down a bit more than it was by Western Illinois as they look to return to the win column.
- Projected score vs. Western Michigan: 53-10
- Projected record: 2-1
While the Indiana Hoosiers had the Cinderella-esque story in the Big Ten last year, the same probably won't be true in 2025. After losing a handful of players to the NFL Draft and a few to the transfer portal, Indiana is a far cry from the team it was last season.
The game might be a little close for comfort, but the Illinois Fighting Illini should be able to secure a victory in their first conference game of the year.
- Projected score vs. Indiana: 38-31
- Projected record: 3-1 (1-0) Big Ten
USC head coach Lincoln Riley has an incredible recruiting class coming into the program... in 2026. So, in 2025, the Trojans should likely expect a similar result to what they saw during the 2024 season: not that great.
The Fighting Illini will host the Trojans for their second Big Ten matchup of the season and will probably earn a double-digit win over Riley and the Trojans.
- Projected score vs. USC: 42-21
- Projected record: 4-1 (2-0 Big Ten)
The Purdue Boilermakers haven't made a splash in the Big Ten in a long, long time. The same will be true during the 2025 season, and Illinois' game against the Boilermakers shouldn't be one to worry about.
More likely than not, the Fighting Illini will demolish Purdue to improve their record to 5-1 on the season and 3-0 against conference opponents.
- Projected score vs. Purdue: 40-12
- Projected record: 5-1 (3-0 Big Ten)
The reigning national champions will come to town for Illinois' fourth Big Ten game of the regular season. Without teams like Michigan, Oregon, or Penn State on the schedule, this will undeniably be the Fighting Illini's hardest conference game of the year.
It will be pretty close to impossible to stop the Buckeyes on offense and, predictably, the Ohio State offense will be as good as ever, likely blowing through the Illinois defense. This game will lead to Illinois' first Big Ten loss of the year, which could easily be its only one.
- Projected score vs. Ohio State: 15-49
- Projected record: 5-2 (3-1 Big Ten)
Playing against Washington in Seattle isn't the easiest road matchup, with the Huskies consistently upsetting some of the top teams in the nation when they visit.
However, Washington head coach Jedd Fisch has struggled to recruit top talent since taking over the program just a year ago and has had an extremely difficult time finding his footing in the Big Ten. Illinois will likely defeat the Washington Huskies by a single-digit margin, but a win is still a win.
- Projected score vs. Washington: 30-21
- Projected record: 6-2 (4-1 Big Ten)
In another relatively easy home matchup, Illinois will host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights for its sixth Big Ten game of the year. Rutgers has had some unexpected wins throughout the years, but this likely won't be one of them.
Bielema and the Fighting Illini should easily hand the Scarlet Knights a loss to improve their Big Ten record to 5-1, with a 7-2 overall record.
- Projected score vs. Rutgers: 35-10
- Projected record: 7-2 (5-1 Big Ten)
Ever since quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa left the Terrapins' football program, Maryland has been a far cry from a threat in conference play.
Without a top-tier recruiting class of 2025, the Maryland Terrapins will likely struggle once again when they face Big Ten opponents, including when they visit the Illinois Fighting Illini. In fact, Illinois will probably earn a double-digit victory over the Terps.
- Projected score vs. Maryland: 38-12
- Projected record: 8-2 (6-1 Big Ten)
This will be one of the most important wins for the Fighting Illini's resume, as going into Madison and defeating the Wisconsin Badgers is no easy task. However, as Bielema bellies up against his former team, Illinois should be able to pull off the victory.
With the win, Illinois would take one more second toward a near-perfect finish in the Big Ten, improving its conference record to 7-1 with a 9-2 overall record.
- Projected score vs. Wisconsin: 28-25
- Projected record: 9-2 (7-1 Big Ten)
In the final regular-season game of the season, Illinois will face in-state rival Northwestern, which seems to be more focused on its stadium remodel than the actual production of its football team.
Illinois will finish the regular season off with a bang, likely earning a monstrous win over the Northwestern Wildcats. This win would have the Fighting Illini finishing the season with a 10-2 overall record and an 8-1 record against conference opponents, putting them in contention for the Big Ten Championship game.
- Projected score vs. Wisconsin: 42-12
- Projected record: 10-2 (8-1 Big Ten)