Ranking every Illinois Football game on the 2026 schedule

Illinois football will kick off its season in less than a month. The Illini open on a Thursday night against UAB inside Gies Memorial Stadium, which should provide a great atmosphere to begin the year. The schedule ramps up immediately after that, as Duke travels to Champaign for Week 2.

The 12-game slate is loaded, so I ranked every Illinois football matchup for the upcoming season.