2020 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 2020 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Fighting Illini played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by fifth-year head coach Lovie Smith.

2020 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record2–6 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRod Smith (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorLovie Smith (first seven games)
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
(Capacity: 60,670)
Uniform
2020 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
No. 2 Ohio State xy$^  5 –0   7 –1  
No. 12 Indiana  6 –1   6 –2  
Penn State  4 –5   4 –5  
Maryland  2 –3   2 –3  
Rutgers  3 –6   3 –6  
Michigan  2 –4   2 –4  
Michigan State  2 –5   2 –5  
West Division
No. 10 Northwestern xy  6 –1   7 –2  
No. 16 Iowa  6 –2   6 –2  
Wisconsin  3 –3   4 –3  
Minnesota  3 –4   3 –4  
Nebraska  3 –5   3 –5  
Purdue  2 –4   2 –4  
Illinois  2 –6   2 –6  
Championship: Ohio State 22, Northwestern 10
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, the Big Ten suspended the season on August 11, but later decided to begin play on October 24. In addition to the title game that was played on December 19, the conference seeded all remaining teams for "championship week" games.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll.

On July 9, 2020, the Big Ten announced that member teams will only play conference games in effort to reduce issues related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[2] On August 11, the Big Ten canceled the college football season for the fall of 2020 due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.[3][4][5] On September 16, the Big Ten reinstated the season, announcing an eight-game season beginning on October 24.[6]

Prior to the team's final game, Smith was relieved of his coaching duties.[7] The team finished the season with a record of 2–6.

Schedule

Illinois had games scheduled against Illinois State, UConn, and Bowling Green, but canceled these games on July 9 due to the Big Ten Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
October 23 7:00 p.m. at No. 14 Wisconsin
BTN L 7–45 0
October 31 11:00 a.m. Purdue
BTN L 24–31 838
November 7 2:30 p.m. Minnesota
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
 BTN L 14–41863
November 14 12:00 p.m. at Rutgers
BTN W 23–20 0
November 21 11:00 a.m. at Nebraska
FS1W 41–230
November 28 11:00 a.m. No. 4 Ohio State
FS1 No Contest[9] –
December 5 2:30 p.m. No. 19 Iowa
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
FS1 L 21–35 875
December 12 11:00 a.m. at No. 14 Northwestern
ESPN2 L 10–28 0
December 19 4:30 p.m. at Penn State
  • Beaver Stadium
  • State College, PA (Champions Week)
 FS1 L 21–56 0

[10]

    Players drafted into the NFL
    See also: 2021 NFL Draft
    Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
    387Kendrick GreenOGPittsburgh Steelers
    5167Nate HobbsCBLas Vegas Raiders

    References
    1. Stevens, Matthew. "Big Ten To Play A "Championship Weekend" 9th Game Of 2020 Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
    2. "Big Ten to play conference-only football schedule for 2020 season amid COVID-19 pandemic". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
    3. "Big Ten cancels college football season for fall 2020, hopes to play in spring 2021". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
    4. West, Jenna. "Big Ten Postpones Fall Sports, Including Football". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
    5. "Big Ten nixes fall football season, eyes spring". ESPN.com. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
    6. "The Big Ten Conference Adopts Stringent Medical Protocols; Football Season to Resume October 23-24, 2020". bigten.org. September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
    7. "Illini Head Coach Lovie Smith Out After Five Seasons". www.msn.com. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
    8. Myerberg, Paul. "Big Ten football reduces season schedule to only conference games, maybe setting stage for others to follow". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
    9. "No. 3 Ohio State cancels Saturday's game at Illinois because of COVID-19 cases, putting the Buckeyes 1 cancellation away from being ineligible for the Big Ten title". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
    10. "2020 Illinois Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
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