The Illinois Fighting Illini are coming off of back-to-back solid seasons, and they’ll hope to keep that going as they kick off their 2026 schedule Thursday.
The Fighting Illini will start off their season with three straight home games in their non-conference schedule, and it all gets underway on Thursday night when they welcome UAB to Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign.
The Illini are also set to play reigning ACC champion Duke at home on September 12, and they’ll wrap up their nonconference slate the following week when they take on nationally-ranked FCS school Southern Illinois.
Their first conference game of the year will feature a visit to No. 1 Ohio State at the end of September, and they’ll also have to face No. 2 Oregon during the campaign, with the Ducks traveling to Champaign on October 24.
The slate also includes road trips to Michigan State, Maryland and UCLA before culminating with a home game against Iowa on November 21 and a trip to the new Ryan Field to face Northwestern to wrap up the year.
Here is the team’s full schedule:
Thursday, Sept. 3: vs. UAB 8 p.m. Big Ten Network
Saturday, Sept. 12: vs. Duke 2:30 p.m. FS1
Saturday, Sept. 19: vs. Southern Illinois 1 p.m. Peacock
Saturday, Sept. 26: at Ohio State TBD
Saturday, Oct. 3: vs. Purdue TBD
Saturday, Oct. 10: at Michigan State TBD
Saturday, Oct. 24: vs. Oregon TBD
Saturday, Oct. 31: at Maryland TBD
Friday, Nov. 6: vs. Nebraska 7 p.m. Fox
Friday, Nov. 13: at UCLA 8 p.m. Fox
Saturday, Nov. 21: vs. Iowa TBD
Saturday, Nov. 28: at Northwestern TBD
As they embark on the season, the Illini will also welcome plenty of new faces on both sides of the ball. After winning back-to-back bowl games, Luke Altmyer is now on the Detroit Lions’ practice squad, and ECU transfer quarterback Katin Houser is hoping to build on his successful 2025 campaign as he steps under center for Illinois.
The Illini will also have former Wisconsin standout lineman Jake Renfro on their roster for the 2026 season, and they also lured former Northern Illinois safety James Finley to Champaign in the transfer portal.
There is still work to be done for Illinois, as they start the season ranked No. 9 in the Big Ten according to the preseason media poll.
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