2025 Illinois Fighting Illini CFB Betting Lines
Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema is many things to many people. However, the 2022 and 2024 seasons served as a reminder to everyone. Bielema is a talented and resourceful football coach. Before Bielema arrived, Illinois had not posted a winning season since 2011. And it had only two bowl berths in that span. In his second year on the job, Bielema led the 2022 Fighting Illini to a winning record and bowl berth. Illinois even had a serious look at the Big Ten West Division title. Perhaps even sweeter for Bielema, he won his return game at Wisconsin against a Badger program he once led to three Rose Bowls. In 2024, Illinois finished with a 10-3 record and ranked 20th nationally. The Illini went 6-3 in Big Ten games, their best performance since 2007.
Now comes the high expectations that follow such a breakout season. Bielema has a career record of 125-80. However, he also has a track record of struggling to handle success. And that is the fear that gamblers have about Illinois in 2025. Can Bielema keep it going and take the next step, or is a massive market correction on the horizon?
College Football Betting Lines
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2025 Illinois Fighting Illini Preview
The 1997 Fighting Illini went 0-11 in Ron Turner's first season. In 2001, Turner's team went 10-1 in the regular season and went to the Sugar Bowl. This marked a new era in Illinois football; the program was finally poised to make a breakthrough, and Illinois went on to win a total of 13 games over its next five seasons.
Ron Zook led the 2007 team to the Rose Bowl. It lost, but it really was possible to recruit in Champaign; the team broke through, but Illinois went 8-16 over the following two seasons.
Through the end of the Zook run, to Tim Beckman, to Bill Cubit, to Lovie Smith, Illinois went 14 seasons without an eight-win season.
And then came Bret Bielema. He brought the attitude and a style that grew into a 10-win season.
Now, in Year Five, he has a team that's worthy of a preseason top 25 slot, probably top 15 in some circles. And now the Illinois football program has a shot at back-to-back double-digit win seasons for the first time. The Illini must take advantage of the hand they've been dealt.
Indeed, they have to face Ohio State, but that's in Champaign. They miss Michigan, Oregon, and Penn State. This year, you don't want Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska, and the Illini don't get them.
But it's Illinois. It wouldn't be the slightest bit shocking if it lost at Purdue and beat Ohio State a week later. Going to Duke is sneaky-nasty, making the trip to Indiana is no longer a given win, and a date at Washington is scary.
Rutgers is dangerous, and Wisconsin should be better ... maybe. USC is still a potentially quality program, going to Washington won't be a speed bump, and if Illinois is the real deal, it should win ten games again.
2025 Illinois Fighting Illini Football Schedule
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
SCORE |
RECORD |
| Aug 29 |
vs. Western Illinois Leathernecks |
- |
- |
| Sep 6 |
at Duke Blue Devils |
- |
- |
| Sep 13 |
vs. Western Michigan Broncos |
- |
- |
| Sep 20 |
at Indiana Hoosiers |
- |
- |
| Sep 27 |
vs. USC Trojans |
- |
- |
| Oct 4 |
at Purdue Boilermakers |
- |
- |
| Oct 11 |
vs. Ohio State Buckeyes |
- |
- |
| Oct 18 |
OFF |
| Oct 25 |
at Washington Huskies |
- |
- |
| Nov 1 |
vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights |
- |
- |
| Nov 8 |
OFF |
| Nov 15 |
vs. Maryland Terrapins |
- |
- |
| Nov 22 |
at Wisconsin Badgers |
- |
- |
| Nov 29 |
vs. Northwestern Wildcats |
- |
- |
Once upon a time, the Illinois Fighting Illini were a perennial power and a national championship program. The Fighting Illini won the Natty in 1914, 1919, 1923, 1927, and 1951. But since those ancient days of glory, Illinois has been a historically mediocre program. Once every 20 years or so, Illinois explodes for a big year. But then they revert to the back of the pack just as fast. The last landmark season in Illini history was in 2007, when Ron Zook took the program to the Rose Bowl. It was Illinois' first run for the roses since coach Mike White took them to Pasadena in the 1983 campaign.
Two of the biggest names to play for Illinois are Dick Butkus and Red Grange. Both players had their numbers retired and went on to star for the Chicago Bears in the NFL. In fact, the founder of the Bears, Georgia Halas, was an end for the Fighting Illini. Another NFL Hall of Famer who played for the University of Illinois was the famed Green Bay Packers linebacker Ray Nitschke. That was also true for NFL Hall of Fame running back Bobby Mitchell.
2025-2026 College Football Schedule
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