Wk 12 · 2026
Iowa Hawkeyes at Illinois Fighting Illini — Sat, Nov 21
Sat, Nov 21 ·
Gies Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL
Weather
No forecast yet. This one is 40 days away and has no kickoff time yet. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
#20 Iowa Hawkeyes
Big Ten · 5-1
at
TBDET
no line posted yet
Ratings differential IOWA by 9.0
Big Ten · 3-3
What is at stake
A Big Ten game — it counts in the standings that decide that league's championship game. Run the race. Iowa is ranked #20 (AP Top 25 · 2026-10-04).
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so
the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a
longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the
good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so
neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats · 2026 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2026 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
Iowa form
W 41-24at WASHL 14-31vs OSUW 20-19at MICHW 55-0vs UNIW 16-13vs ISU
2026 season
Illinois form
W 38-37at MSUL 17-24vs PURL 19-42at OSUW 48-10vs SIUL 27-31vs DUKE
2026 season
Iowa this season
Straight up5-1 · 83% (6 games)
Against the spread4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Over / under2-4 · 33% (6 games)
Illinois this season
Straight up3-3 · 50% (6 games)
Against the spread2-4 · 33% (6 games)
Over / under5-1 · 83% (6 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 4
| Opponent | Iowa | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio State Big Ten | vs L 14-31 preview | at L 19-42 preview |
| Northwestern Big Ten | at Wk 10 · scheduled preview | at Wk 13 · scheduled preview |
| Purdue Big Ten | vs Wk 11 · scheduled preview | vs L 17-24 preview |
| Nebraska Big Ten | vs Wk 13 · scheduled preview | vs Wk 10 · scheduled preview |
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, Iowa leads 11–2 · Iowa won the last one
13 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
15.0 points toward Iowa
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2023-11-18 | Illinois 13 — 15 Iowa | at IOWA | Iowa |
| 2022 | 2022-10-08 | Iowa 6 — 9 Illinois | at ILL | Illinois |
| 2021 | 2021-11-20 | Illinois 23 — 33 Iowa | at IOWA | Iowa |
| 2020 | 2020-12-05 | Iowa 35 — 21 Illinois | at ILL | Iowa |
| 2019 | 2019-11-23 | Illinois 10 — 19 Iowa | at IOWA | Iowa |
| 2018 | 2018-11-17 | Iowa 63 — 0 Illinois | at ILL | Iowa |
| 2017 | 2017-10-07 | Illinois 16 — 45 Iowa | at IOWA | Iowa |
| 2016 | 2016-11-19 | Iowa 28 — 0 Illinois | at ILL | Iowa |
| 2015 | 2015-10-10 | Illinois 20 — 29 Iowa | at IOWA | Iowa |
| 2014 | 2014-11-15 | Iowa 30 — 14 Illinois | at ILL | Iowa |
| 2008 | 2008-11-01 | Iowa 24 — 27 Illinois | at ILL | Illinois |
| 2007 | 2007-10-13 | Illinois 6 — 10 Iowa | at IOWA | Iowa |
| 2006 | 2006-09-23 | Iowa 24 — 7 Illinois | at ILL | Iowa |
Iowa leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Hank Brown QB #9 | 78/124, 832 YDS, 5 TD, 1 INT |
| Jeremy Hecklinski QB #10 | 32/51, 410 YDS, 4 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Kamari Moulton RB #28 | 76 CAR, 519 YDS, 4 TD |
| Xavier Williams RB #26 | 20 CAR, 170 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Braeden Jackson RB #22 | 19 CAR, 170 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | Tony Diaz WR #14 | 28 REC, 329 YDS, 1 TD |
| Reece Vander Zee WR #2 | 16 REC, 247 YDS, 3 TD | |
| DJ Vonnahme TE #81 | 18 REC, 219 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Addison Ostrenga TE #87 | 8 REC, 75 YDS, 1 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Cam Buffington LB #33 | 52 |
| Jayden Montgomery LB #36 | 35 | |
| Zach Lutmer DB #6 | 34 | |
| Sacks | Joseph Anderson DE #84 | 3 |
| Preston Ries LB #46 | 2.5 | |
| Bryce Hawthorne DL #96 | 2.5 | |
| Interceptions | Deshaun Lee DB #8 | 2 |
| Rashad Godfrey Jr. DB #7 | 1 | |
| Jacob Wallace DB #11 | 1 |
Illinois leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Katin Houser QB #4 | 102/155, 1246 YDS, 11 TD, 3 INT |
| Rushing | Aidan Laughery RB #21 | 45 CAR, 321 YDS, 1 TD |
| Ca'Lil Valentine RB #5 | 50 CAR, 225 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Katin Houser QB #4 | 25 CAR, 106 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Collin Dixon WR #17 | 40 REC, 546 YDS, 8 TD |
| Hudson Clement WR #13 | 21 REC, 299 YDS | |
| Ty Robinson WR #10 | 11 REC, 159 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Brayden Trimble WR #11 | 15 REC, 116 YDS |
Defense
| Tackles | Matthew Bailey DB #7 | 37 |
| Ismael Kante LB #26 | 29 | |
| Juice Clarke DB #6 | 24 | |
| Sacks | Will Holmes DL #24 | 1 |
| Ean Rhea LB #40 | 1 | |
| Joe Barna DL #43 | 0.5 | |
| Interceptions | Matthew Bailey DB #7 | 1 |
| Ismael Kante LB #26 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.