Illinois opens the 2024 football season at home Thursday night against Eastern Illinois. The Illini need a decisive victory to show they have tossed aside the disappointing conclusion to last season — two-point losses in the final two games cost them a bowl bid — and are able to make some noise in the Big Ten.
Coach Bret Bielema is 18-19 in three seasons in Champaign, with a promising 8-5 finish in 2022 bookended by two 5-7 seasons.
EIU, 8-3 last season and ranked 24th in the final FCS poll, has an opportunity to pull off a major upset against a foe just 56 miles from its campus in Charleston.
Time/TV: 8 p.m., BTN.
Line: Illinois by 27½.
Series: Illinois leads 2-0.
Key matchup
EIU QB Pierce Holley vs. the Illinois defense.
Holley, a two-year starter, passed for 2,741 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, his first for the Panthers after transferring from Georgetown. The Illini led the nation in scoring defense in 2022 (12 points per game) but slipped to No. 95 last season (29 ppg). They hope CB Terrance Brooks, a transfer from Texas, will shore up their secondary.
Players to watch
EIU: LB Elijawah Tolbert is a two-time first-team all-conference selection. He led the Panthers last season with 87 tackles, including seven for a loss. Tolbert entered the transfer portal after the season and went through spring practice at Missouri State but returned to EIU during the summer.
Illinois: WR Zakhari Franklin, a transfer from Ole Miss, is college football’s active career leader in receptions (266), receiving yards (3,386) and receiving touchdowns (38). He’s reunited with offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr., who was Franklin’s coordinator at UTSA, where he began his college career.
Facts & figures
Illinois is 3-0 in openers under Bielema, beating Nebraska, Wyoming and Toledo at home. … Former EIU player Chris Wilkerson returned to his alma mater in 2022 to coach the Panthers after a successful eight-year run as University of Chicago’s coach. After a 2-9 season in Wilkerson’s first year, the Panthers turned things around last season. They were one of the final four teams considered for the FCS playoffs. … Of the 120 players on the Illinois roster, 45 are new to the program. … Illinois offensive linemen have a combined 96 starts and 168 games played in their college careers … The Illini have 17 players, including nine transfers, who have started 10 or more college games. … Illinois and EIU last met in 2008. The Illini won 47-21.