2023 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 2023 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Fighting Illini were led by Bret Bielema in his third season as the team's head coach. They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

2023 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–7 (3–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bret Bielema (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Barry Lunney Jr. (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Aaron Henry (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Terrance Jamison (1st season)
Base defense	Multiple 3–4
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

2023 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 1 Michigan xy$#^		9	–	0					15	–	0
No. 10 Ohio State		8	–	1					11	–	2
No. 13 Penn State		7	–	2					10	–	3
Maryland		4	–	5					8	–	5
Rutgers		3	–	6					7	–	6
Michigan State		2	–	7					4	–	8
Indiana		1	–	8					3	–	9
West Division
No. 24 Iowa xy		7	–	2					10	–	4
Northwestern		5	–	4					8	–	5
Wisconsin		5	–	4					7	–	6
Illinois		3	–	6					5	–	7
Minnesota		3	–	6					6	–	7
Nebraska		3	–	6					5	–	7
Purdue		3	–	6					4	–	8
Championship: Michigan 26, Iowa 0
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

Big 10 media poll

The Illini were predicted to finish fourth in the Big Ten's West Division.

Big Ten media poll West Division
Predicted finish	Team	Points (1st place votes)
1	Wisconsin	233 (20)
2	Iowa	232 (16)
3	Minnesota	176 (1)
4	Illinois	152
5	Nebraska	116
6	Purdue	89
7	Northwestern	38

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	6:30 p.m.	Toledo*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	W 30–28	48,898
September 8	6:30 p.m.	at Kansas*	David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	ESPN2	L 23–34	45,809
September 16	11:00 a.m.	No. 7 Penn State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	FOX	L 13–30	49,099
September 23	2:30 p.m.	Florida Atlantic*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	W 23–17	53,512
September 30	2:30 p.m.	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	Peacock	L 19–44	59,510
October 6	6:00 p.m.	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	FS1	L 7–20	46,703
October 14	2:30 p.m.	at Maryland	SECU Stadium College Park, MD	NBC	W 27–24	35,580
October 21	2:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	FS1	L 21–25	54,205
November 4	2:30 p.m.	at Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 27–26	42,906
November 11	11:00 a.m.	Indiana	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	BTN	W 48–45OT	53,157
November 18	2:30 p.m.	at No. 16 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	FS1	L 13–15	69,250
November 25	2:30 p.m.	Northwestern	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	BTN	L 43–45	42,310
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, from the date when issued) - Released prior to game All times are in Central time Source:

Roster

2023 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 0 Josh McCray So WR 1 Isaiah Williams Jr RB 3 Kaden Feagin Fr QB 4 John Paddock Sr WR 6 Ashton Hollins  Fr WR 7 Kenari Wilcher Fr WR 8 Shawn Miller  Fr QB 9 Luke Altmyer So QB 10 Donovan Leary  Fr QB 11 Jake Huber So QB 12 Kirkland Michaux So WR 13 Pat Bryant Jr WR 14 Casey Washington Sr QB 16 Cal Swanson Fr WR 18 Chase Miller  Fr WR 19 Eian Pugh  Fr RB 21 Aidan Laughery  Fr RB 23 Reggie Love III Jr RB 25 Jordan Anderson   Fr TE 36 Ben Schultz Jr TE 41 Tanner Arkin So TE 43 Griffin Moore Jr OL 53 Devin Hale So OL 54 Julian Pearl Sr OL 55 T. J. McMillen Fr OL 56 Magnus Møller  Fr OL 62 Sam Tsagalis  Fr OL 64 Josh Kruetz So OL 65 Joey Okla  Fr OL 66 Jordyn Slaughter Sr OL 68 Zachary Barlev So OL 71 Hunter Whitenack So OL 72 Zy Crisler Jr OL 73 Josh Gesky So OL 75 Brandon Henderson Fr OL 76 Clayton Leonard  Fr OL 78 Isaiah Adams Sr OL 79 Luciano Elias  Fr WR 80 Hank Beatty So TE 82 Nate Guinn Fr WR 83 Keion Battle So TE 84 Owen Anderson  Fr WR 86 Weston Adams  Fr WR 87 Tyler McClure Fr TE 88 Henry Boyer  Fr TE 89 Tip Reiman Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 1 Demetrius Hill  So DB 3 Tahveon Nicholson Jr DL 4 Jer'Zhan Newton Jr DB 7 Matthew Bailey  So LB 8 Tarique Barnes Sr DB 9 Tyson Rooks  Fr DB 10 Miles Scott So DB 12 Elijah Mc-Cantos  Fr OLB 13 Trey Smith Fr DB 14 Xavier Scott So OLB 17 Gabe Jacas So DB 19 Zachary Tobe Fr DB 20 Tyler Strain So DB 21 Nicario Harper Sr DB 22 Kaleb Patterson So DL 23 Terah Edwards Jr DB 24 Nick Fedanzo Jr LB 25 Jared Badie  Fr DB 26 Mike Manning Jr DB 27 Matthew Bobak So LB 28 Dylan Rosiek So DB 29 T. J. Griffin  Fr LB 30 JoJo Hayden Fr DB 31 Kionte Curry So LB 33 Ezekiel Holmes Sr LB 34 Ryan Meed Jr DB 35 Grayson Griffin  Fr DB 37 Solo Turner Sr LB 39 Kenenna Odeluga So LB 41 James Kruetz  Fr LB 42 Luke Zardzin  So DB 44 Ben Clawson  Fr LB 45 Malachi Hood   Fr LB 48 Bryce Barnes Sr OLB 49 Seth Coleman Jr DL 55 Sed McConnell So DL 57 Evan Kirts Jr OL 74 Dylan Davis Jr DL 88 Keith Randolph Jr. Jr OLB 90 Alec Bryant So DL 91 Denzel Daxon Sr DL 99 Christian Lorenzo  Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 5 Caleb Griffin Sr P 19 Hugh Robertson So K 24 David Olano Fr P 31 Declan Duley Fr LS 36 Lane Hansen So LS 39 Aidan Hall Jr K/P 98 Fabrizio Pinton So	Head coach Bret Bielema Coordinators/assistant coaches Barry Lunney Jr. – Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks Aaron Henry – Defensive coordinator Robby Discher – Special teams coordinator/Tight ends Terrance Jamison – Co-defensive coordinator/Defensive line Thad Ward – Running backs George McDonald – Wide receivers/Assistant head coach Antonio Fenelus – Defensive Backs Bart Miller – Offensive Line Andy Buh – Linebackers Charlie Bullen – Outside linebackers/Pass rush coordinator Tank Wright – Director, Strength and Conditioning GC Yerry – Associate Director, Strength and Conditioning Nick Elicone – Assistant, Strength and Conditioning Matt Manninger – Assistant, Strength and Conditioning Tyler Mayo – Assistant, Strength and Conditioning Danny Cameron – Quality Control, Offense Max Rosenthal – Quality Control, Offense Alex Panos – Quality Control, Defense Ryan Simerson – Quality Control, Defense Adam Kleffner – Offensive Analyst Kevin Laeone Richardson II – Defensive Analyst Chris Hurd – Special Teams Analyst Vincent Jeffries Jr. – Graduate Assistant Tyler King – Graduate Assistant Grant Morgan – Graduate Assistant Artur Sitkowski – Graduate Assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 9/25/2023