When you look at the history of the Illinois football program, we have been pretty spoiled over the last six seasons.
Bret Bielema has built Illinois up to heights no one has seen. There have been only two non-bowl seasons in the first five years of the Bielema era, and those seasons both finished at 5-7.
It wasn’t that long ago that 5-7 was an accomplishment for the Illini. Now, it will hopefully be the floor for the program.
The 2026 season will test that, though. Getting to five wins will be a struggle. Even with that being the case, I believe there is still a chance Illinois could get to five wins and more. Six wins and a bowl game is the goal.
What this means is that Illinois has to go at least 4-3 to finish out the season. Are there four wins on the schedule?
Here is the Illinois football road map to a bowl game for the 2026 season
Illinois football at Michigan State – Saturday, October 10
The first stop on the road map for Illinois to make a bowl game this season is in East Lansing. We take on Michigan State on Saturday.
The Spartans aren’t very good, currently sitting with the same 2-3 record as Illinois. This team is way more manageable than some of the teams we have already played, too.
Michigan State is coming off a 31-3 drubbing at the hands of Wisconsin. They are wounded. Alessio Milivojevic hasn’t been a good quarterback for them, so that should help the Illinois defense get some confidence. A win here is a must, and I think it can get us back to .500.
Illinois football at Maryland – Saturday, October 31
After a tough game against Oregon, a 3-4 Illinois team then heads to Maryland. The Terrapins are one of the worst teams in college football.
Illinois beat Maryland 24-6 last season, and hopefully the defense is clicking a little more by this game. Moreover, I think the Illini offense could put up a number.
Katin Houser is the heartbeat of the Illinois offense, and he should be able to let it fly in this game. Maryland has given up 45.7 points per game in the last three contests. This is an opportunity for Illinois to show that we have some juice and can get back to .500 once again.
Illinois football vs. Nebraska – Friday, November 6
Illinois has the potential to get on a roll in the next few games. Wins over Michigan State and Maryland would get us in reaching distance of a bowl game. Two more wins would be needed.
I could see Illinois taking out Nebraska in Champaign. We haven’t played the Cornhuskers in a couple of seasons, but the last time we played, we took down a ranked Nebraska squad.
That could happen again. Nebraska is 5-0, but they haven’t played anybody. I know that Anthony Colandrea has good numbers, but I have watched him and don’t think he is that impressive with his arm. His legs are another story, though.
While this would be a good matchup, I think the Illini can take this game. Nebraska’s offense will come back down to Earth, and Illinois should be able to move the football.
Illinois football at #21 UCLA – Friday, November 13
Now 5-4 on the season, Illinois has a chance to clinch a bowl game the following week against No. 21 UCLA.
I know, beating a ranked team right now sounds like a difficult task. The Bruins have had a nice run of scoring a lot of points. While they are 4-0, their schedule hasn’t exactly been tough.
The Bruins have been beating up on bad teams, and they probably will get a rude awakening on Saturday.
Nico Iamaleava is a good quarterback but has his flaws. I am more scared of the UCLA run game right now.
Illinois has a chance to score a lot against UCLA, too. They gave up 38 points to Purdue, so if the Illini can get going through the air, then we should be able to win this game. This would be the final piece to getting to six wins and the ultimate goal at this point: a bowl game.
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