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2023 Illinois Fighting Illini football
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
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
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
Minnesota	3	–	6	6	–	7
Illinois	3	–	6	5	–	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

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. The Illinois Fighting Illini football team drew an average home attendance of 49,698 in 2023.^[1]

Preseason

The Illini were predicted to finish fourth in the Big Ten's West Division.^[2]

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

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
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 48–45^OT	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: ^[3]

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	`63`	Dezmond Schuster	So
OL	`64`	Josh Kruetz	So
OL	`65`	Joey Okla	Fr
OL	`66`	Jordyn Slaughter	Sr
OL	`68`	Zachary Barlev	So
OL	`70`	Zach Aamland	Fr
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	So
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`	Johnny 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	So
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
OLB	`52`	Pat Farrell	Fr
DL	`55`	Sed McConnell	So
DL	`56`	Jeremiah Warren	Fr
DL	`57`	Evan Kirts	Jr
DL	`74`	Dylan Davis	Jr
DL	`88`	Keith Randolph Jr.	Jr
OLB	`90`	Alec Bryant	So
DL	`91`	Denzel Daxon	Sr
DL	`93`	Henry Engel	Fr
DL	`94`	Joep Engbers	Fr
DL	`99`	Christian Lorenzo	Fr