The 2020 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. In their fifth and final season under head coach Lovie Smith, the Fighting Illini compiled a 2–6 record (2–6 in conference games), finished in fifth place in the Big Ten's West Division, and were outscored by a total of 279 to 161. Prior to the team's final game, Smith was fired as head coach.
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Brandon Peters (429 passing yards, 48.8% completion percentage), running back Chase Brown (540 rushing yards), wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe (22 receptions for 297 yards), kicker James McCourt (33 points, 15 of 15 extra points, 6 of 10 field goals), and linebacker Jake Hansen (68 total tackles, 36 solo tackles).
The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.
Big Ten preseason poll The Big Ten preseason media prediction poll was released on July 31, 2020. The Fighting Illini were predicted to finish seventh (last) in the Big Ten West.
+West 1 Wisconsin 221 (19) 2 Minnesota 209.5 (14) 3 Iowa 157 4 Nebraska 117 5 Purdue 105 6 Northwestern 87.5 (1) 7 Illinois 55
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.
Roster
Game summaries At No. 14 Wisconsin
Statistics ILLWISC First downs 8 23 Total yards 218 430 Rushing yards 131 182 Passing yards 87 248 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 16:32 43:28 Team Category Player StatisticsIllinois Passing Brandon Peters 8/19, 87 yards Rushing Brandon Peters 7 rushes, 75 yards Receiving Josh Imatorbhebhe 3 receptions, 26 yardsWisconsin Passing Graham Mertz 20/21, 248 yards, 5 TD Rushing Garrett Groshek 13 rushes, 70 yards Receiving Jake Ferguson 7 receptions, 72 yards, 3 TD
Purdue
Statistics PURILL First downs 25 27 Total yards 456 472 Rushing yards 85 177 Passing yards 371 295 Turnovers 2 4 Time of possession 30:38 29:22 Team Category Player StatisticsPurdue Passing Aidan O'Connell 29/35, 371 yards, 2 TD Rushing Zander Horvath 22 rushes, 102 yards, TD Receiving David Bell 9 receptions, 122 yards, TDIllinois Passing Coran Taylor 17/29, 273 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing Chase Brown 11 rushes, 73 yards Receiving Brian Hightower 4 receptions, 97 yards, TD
Minnesota
Statistics MINNILL First downs 30 14 Total yards 541 287 Rushing yards 325 181 Passing yards 216 106 Turnovers 2 0 Time of possession 37:35 22:25 Team Category Player StatisticsMinnesota Passing Tanner Morgan 17/27, 216 yards, TD, INT Rushing Mohamed Ibrahim 30 rushes, 224 yards, 4 TD Receiving Rashod Bateman 10 receptions, 139 yards, TDIllinois Passing Coran Taylor 6/17, 106 yards, TD Rushing Mike Epstein 11 rushes, 108 yards, TD Receiving Josh Imatorbhebhe 2 receptions, 60 yards, TD
At Rutgers
Statistics ILLRUTG First downs 23 19 Total yards 442 422 Rushing yards 338 166 Passing yards 104 256 Turnovers 1 3 Time of possession 34:38 25:22 Team Category Player StatisticsIllinois Passing Isaiah Williams 7/18, 104 yards Rushing Isaiah Williams 31 rushes, 192 yards, TD Receiving Casey Washington 3 receptions, 52 yardsScarlet Passing Noah Vedral 21/34, 256 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT Rushing Isiah Pacheco 20 rushes, 133 yards Receiving Bo Melton 5 receptions, 150 yards, 2 TD
At Nebraska
Statistics ILLNEB First downs 25 25 Total yards 490 392 Rushing yards 285 215 Passing yards 205 177 Turnovers 0 5 Time of possession 36:21 23:39 Team Category Player StatisticsIllinois Passing Brandon Peters 18/25, 205 yards, TD Rushing Mike Epstein 13 rushes, 113 yards, TD Receiving Josh Imatorbhebhe 4 receptions, 71 yards, TDNebraska Passing Luke McCaffrey 15/26, 134 yards, 3 INT Rushing Luke McCaffrey 26 rushes, 122 yards, 2 TD Receiving Wan'Dale Robinson 6 receptions, 60 yards
No. 19 Iowa
Statistics IOWAILL First downs 22 20 Total yards 424 348 Rushing yards 204 149 Passing yards 220 199 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 30:26 29:34 Team Category Player StatisticsIowa Passing Spencer Petras 18/28, 220 yards, 3 TD Rushing Tyler Goodson 19 rushes, 92 yards Receiving Brandon Smith 5 receptions, 58 yardsIllinois Passing Brandon Peters 10/18, 116 yards, 2 TD Rushing Chase Brown 18 rushes, 83 yards Receiving Josh Imatorbhebhe 4 receptions, 48 yards, TD
At No. 14 Northwestern
Statistics ILLNW First downs 14 23 Total yards 262 493 Rushing yards 155 411 Passing yards 107 82 Turnovers 0 1 Time of possession 25:25 34:35 Team Category Player StatisticsIllinois Passing Isaiah Williams 4/8, 86 yards, TD Rushing Chase Brown 14 rushes, 70 yards Receiving Brian Hightower 2 receptions, 60 yards, TDNorthwestern Passing Peyton Ramsey 7/12, 82 yards, TD Rushing Evan Hull 13 rushes, 143 yards, TD Receiving Kyric McGowan 4 receptions, 72 yards
At Penn State
Statistics ILLPSU First downs 12 28 Total yards 273 580 Rushing yards 153 253 Passing yards 120 327 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 25:10 34:50 Team Category Player StatisticsIllinois Passing Isaiah Williams 8/18, 120 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Isaiah Williams 15 rushes, 102 yards Receiving Daniel Barker 3 receptions, 54 yards, TDPenn State Passing Sean Clifford 16/22, 285 yards, 2 TD Rushing Keyvone Lee 19 rushes, 85 yards, TD Receiving Jahan Dotson 6 receptions, 189 yards, 2 TD
2021 NFL draft
3 87 Kendrick Green OG Pittsburgh Steelers 5 167 Nate Hobbs CB Las Vegas Raiders
References