Getting To Know The Enemy: 6Qs About The Illinois Fighting Illini

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Happy Thursday, TOC Nation. It’s Homecoming Week at Michigan State, and we are back with another 6-pack of questions. This weekend’s opponent is the Illinois Fighting Illini, and I sat down with Isaac Ambrose from The Champaign Room for some insight into this game. Let’s see what he had to say.

The Only Colors: Illinois finished 9-4 last year with a win in the Music City Bowl and was 10-3 the year before with a Citrus Bowl win.  What were your expectations for 2026?

Isaac Ambrose: I think most fans knew that 9+ wins wasn’t going to happen again because of what you lost (especially Luke Altmyer) and the unknowns of the new defense, but we were expecting better than this. I believe the Vegas line closed at 6.5 wins for the season projection and was at 7.5 when it opened up so looking at the possibility of less than five wins is scary. I personally was expecting 6 or 7 wins with some positives on offense and some signs of life from Bobby Hauck and the new defense. So far, we have had mostly positives on offense (besides against Purdue) and a worse defense than we could’ve imagined including our defensive coordinator “mutually parting ways” with Illinois after 4 games. 

TOC: Illinois has Katin Houser as the new QB.  Houser is famously one of 3 former MSU QBs who appear on our schedule this year.  What was the QB competition like in the offseason?  Is Houser solidly entrenched at QB1 or could he be unseated if he struggles?  What are your impressions of him thus far?

IA: Katin Houser through 4 weeks looked like an amazing get in the portal and a guy with NFL traits. All offseason we heard of how good he threw the ball and was a leader on and off the field, then he backed that up early this season. We saw a few glimpses of overthrows and mistakes from Houser the first few weeks, but then it all came to life against Purdue where he felt jittery and off the entire game and eventually throwing a very poor interception that essentially sealed it for Purdue. He is no doubt the QB1 and has been since he got to campus earlier this year, I don’t see a possibility of him being benched this season. I still think Houser is a great QB and can win us games, but he showed a lot of flaws against Purdue. 

TOC: Who are the skill position players that MSU fans should be familiar with?  Who is most likely to have a huge day against an MSU defense who gives up a lot of chunk plays?

IA: Collin Dixon has 8 touchdowns through 5 games and is most likely going to break Illinois’ single season receiving TD record. He has sure hands and can push forward for YAC. Hudson Clement is a solid number two receiver and can be counted on for 4 or 5 big catches per game. Jayshon Platt was supposed to transfer in from FAU and be a top three WR for us but has yet to play because of injury. Aidan Laughery is a solid veteran back who is fast enough to burst through a hole and fight for extra yards that most backs cannot. Illinois really had a 1A and 1B running back situation with Laughery and Ca’Lil Valentine who has shown flashes as an Illini, but Valentine got rolled up on against Purdue and Bielema said he is out for the season. Tight ends really don’t get involved too much in our offense. 

TOC: Tell us about your defense.  What is your base formation?  What level is the best?  Which one or two guys do the MSU coaches most need to prepare for?

IA: Oh boy. The defense. or lack thereof. The Illini defense has been a major pain point for three seasons now and continues to decline. Aaron Henry took a new job at Notre Dame after two failed seasons as DC and then Bielema decided to bring in Bobby Hauck who was the Montana head coach for a long time and runs the unique 3-3-5. Most power four teams don’t run this and Illinois fans are seeing why. Bret Bielema blamed NIL money and Eli Coenen and a couple other unexpected guys leaving in the portal for the switch to the 3-3-5. The 3-3-5 is supposed to create pressure and confuse the Oline/QB and be a hard prep for opposing offenses. The thought was to make the most of a smaller group of defensive linemen and hope our veteran DBs could make plays, which has yet to happen. Illinois only has 3 sacks in 5 games and are allergic to making plays on defense. Really, no level of the defense is playing well right now besides Matthew Bailey. He is a monster at safety and racks up a ton of tackles. Bailey will be playing on Sundays next year. 

TOC: Last week, Illinois lost at home to Purdue, a team that had not won a Big Ten game since the last game of the 2023 season.  What happened in that game?  How, if at all, did that result change your expectations for your season?  What does Illinois need to do to bounce back against Michigan State?

IA: The loss to Purdue really reset expectations for Illinois and felt more impactful than just a 7 point loss in a rivalry game that is normally close. Illinois fans including myself thought Bielema’s floor was too high than losing as a 10.5 favorite on homecoming in front of a sellout crowd and frankly being dominated. The defense was rough as Purdue scored a FG or TD on every first half drive besides taking a knee into halftime. The offense was asleep and Houser couldn’t make routine throws until late in the game. Your offense finally got Illinois back in the game in the 4th quarter just for the defense to let Purdue go down the field and score an easy TD. 

Long story short, the defense is so bad that the offense has to be perfect and when they aren’t perfect, Illinois can lose to almost anyone. Most fans were thinking bowl game was still in play until we lost to Purdue. So now we are just hoping to get one or two more wins and avoid a 2-10 season. Illinois needs a win over Michigan State and the defense to show signs of life like a fish needs water. Something positive to grasp onto because after winning 19 games the last two years, going 2-10 or 3-9 would be very deflating. The offense will have to score probably 28 or more and the defense will need to force a turnover for us to beat Michigan State. 

TOC: Predict the final score.

IA: I would be dumb to pick Illinois to beat anyone after losing at home as big favorites to a team who hasn’t won a Big Ten game since 2023 right? However, Vegas has Illinois as a small favorite and Bret Bielema has proven to follow up absolute stinkers with solid performances. I wouldn’t be shocked either way in this one, but as a Michigan resident with plenty of Michigan State friends telling me how rough things are in East Lansing, I will take Illinois 28 – Michigan State 27.

TOC: Bonus Question.  Aside from former athletes, who is Illinois’ most famous alum?

IA: Probably Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec), but Shahid Khan who owns the Jaguars and a ton of other things would also be up there. 

TOC would like to thank Isaac for his contributions to this article. He is going to be attending the game on Saturday with his family, so let’s hope they don’t have too good of a time.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos