{"id":50524,"date":"2025-07-09T04:51:17","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T04:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/50524\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T04:51:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T04:51:17","slug":"illinois-magical-playoff-run-as-told-by-ea-college-football-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/50524\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois\u2019 magical playoff run (as told by EA College Football 26)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In what is quickly becoming a national holiday for sports nerds, especially myself, EA Sports College Football \u201826 was released on Monday.<\/p>\n

\"South<\/p>\n

Me whenever CFB drops<\/p>\n

Photo by Dustin Markland\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The game made its long-awaited return to glory last year, and it\u2019s back yet again.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, this year\u2019s version is a lot kinder to Illinois than last year\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Illinois is rated as the No. 25 overall team, but when you load into dynasty, they begin the season ranked No. 10.<\/p>\n

Not too shabby for Bret Bielema & Co.<\/p>\n

Gabe Jacas and Xavier Scott are the two highest-rated Illini in the game, with Jacas at a 92 and Scott at a 90. Quarterback Luke Altmyer checks in at an 89.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to give a quick breakdown of notable stats for each game. If you\u2019d rather skip ahead, scroll to the bottom for end-of-season stats and results.<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s dive into the game-by-game predictions for the 2025\u201326 season.<\/p>\n

Week 1: No. 10 Illinois def. Western Illinois 66-14<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luke Altmyer had a day throwing for 403 yards and 5 touchdowns. Aidan Laughery got it done on the ground with 105 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Collin Dixon had a breakout performance with 8 catches for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. <\/p>\n

An easy victory for Illinois over Western Illinois (FCS Midwest) week one.<\/p>\n

Week 2: No. 7 Illinois def. Duke 30-20<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keelan Crimmins legacy game. His three punts pinned inside the 20 helped the Illinois defense hold Darian Mensah and Duke to just 20 points. Aidan Laughery and Collin Dixon both went for over 100 yards again, but Altmyer struggled mightily throwing two interceptions and only completing 34% of his passes.<\/p>\n

Gabe Jacas and Leon Lowery both had two sacks apiece and Dylan Rosiek and Kaleb Patterson picked off Mensah once.<\/p>\n

Week 3: No. 7 Illinois def. Western Michigan 38-7<\/strong><\/p>\n

A 3-0 start for the Illini as Luke Altmyer bounced back with 316 passing yards and two touchdowns, Dixon continued his electric start to the season with 7 catches for 112 yards, and Justin Bowick caught his first touchdown of the year.<\/p>\n

\"Western<\/p>\n

Payback for 2016<\/p>\n

Jacas and Lowery added a sack apiece, and the running back tandem of Laughery and Feagin combined for three rushing scores.<\/p>\n

Week 4: No. 19 Indiana def. No. 7 Illinois 41-20<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ouch. Have a day, Illini defense!<\/p>\n

Hoosier running back Roman Hemby ran for 150 yards, and the Illini offense was stifled by Indiana\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n

Illinois dropped to No. 18 ahead of their week five matchup with USC.<\/p>\n

Week 5: No. 21 USC def. No. 18 Illinois 41-14<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cue Free Fallin\u2019 by Tom Petty.<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

Yeah I\u2019m free… Free fallinnnn<\/p>\n

Photo By Rick Diamond\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

After a promising start, Illinois drops two in a row and gets dominated by USC.<\/p>\n

Jayden Maiava torched the Illini defense with 295 yards and three touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Illinois falls from top 10 to unranked in just two weeks.<\/p>\n

Week 6: Illinois def. Purdue 30-21<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back on track.<\/p>\n

Luke Altmyer throws for a touchdown and Aidan Laughery runs for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hudson Clement had his breakout game in an Illinois uniform with 9 catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. Lowery continued his strong season with 1.5 sacks.<\/p>\n

Illinois creeps back into the top 25 at No. 24.<\/p>\n

Week 7: No. 24 Illinois def. No. 16 Ohio State 52-34<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andddd here\u2019s how you know this is a video game. Ohio State rolling into Champaign, ranked No. 16.<\/p>\n

Dixon outdueled Jeremiah Smith with 12 receptions for 150 yards and four touchdowns, breaking the Illinois record for touchdown receptions in a game. Altmyer threw six touchdown passes, and the Illini outgained the Buckeyes 224\u201338 on the ground.<\/p>\n

Champaign might burn down if this result happens in real life.<\/p>\n

Week 9: No. 15 Illinois def. Washington 28-24<\/strong><\/p>\n

Altmyer had four total touchdowns, including three through the air and one on the ground\u2014 despite throwing for just 116 yards.<\/p>\n

Kaleb Patterson picked off Demond Williams twice, and Illinois escaped Seattle with a narrow win.<\/p>\n

Week 10: No. 13 Illinois def. Rutgers 26-21<\/strong><\/p>\n

Altmyer threw for 332 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Tanner Arkin had nine catches for 98 yards. Jacas and Tomiwa Durojaiye each added a sack as Illinois fended off the Scarlet Knights.<\/p>\n

The Illini appeared in the top 12 of the College Football Playoff rankings with just three games remaining.<\/p>\n

Week 12: No. 8 Illinois def. Maryland 31-26<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"NCAA<\/p>\n

Whatever Maryland fan sold their soul to own Illinois is sobbing right now<\/p>\n

Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Illinois jumped three spots in the CFP poll without playing a game, and they got the job done against a one-win Maryland team.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Aidan Laughery got injured. In other news, grass is green, but Kaden Feagin picked up the slack with 17 carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns. <\/p>\n

Durojaiye added 1.5 sacks, and Patterson snagged another interception.<\/p>\n

Week 13: No. 7 Illinois def. Wisconsin 26-25<\/strong><\/p>\n

Illinois snuck by the Badgers, and while Wisconsin fans jumped around in the fourth quarter, it was the Illini who were smiling and dancing when the clock struck zero.<\/p>\n

Bielema moved to 2-0 at his old stomping grounds, and he was carried by a stellar performance from Altmyer, who had 303 yards and three touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Collin Dixon added 9 catches, 133 yards, and a touchdown while Justin Bowick had two touchdown grabs.<\/p>\n

Leon Lowery showed out against his former squad with two sacks.<\/p>\n

Week 14: No. 7 Illinois def. Northwestern 44-14<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ending the year with a blowout victory of the kitties is always nice.<\/p>\n

Kaden Feagin had himself a monster day with 216 yards and two touchdowns, and Altmyer added 284 yards through the air with two passing touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Illinois ends the regular season at 10-2 (7-2), and was ranked No. 5 in the CFP poll, but won\u2019t play in the Big Ten title game. <\/p>\n

All the Illini have to do is wait until Selection Sunday to see their logo pop up in the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n

Remember that early season win over Duke? Yeah, it held up nicely as the Blue Devils finished the regular season ranked No. 8.<\/p>\n

Conference Championship Week<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iowa shocked the world and upset No. 1 Penn State to win the Big Ten title, thus securing its spot in the College Football Playoff. Miami dominated Duke, Texas Tech knocked off No. 1 Iowa State, and Florida defeated Georgia in the SEC title game.<\/p>\n

Illinois headed into the College Football Playoff ranked No. 4 and would have a bye before facing the winner of No. 5 Iowa State and No. 12 Iowa.<\/p>\n

Cotton Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal): No. 5 Iowa State def. No. 4 Illinois, 38\u201328<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"NCAA<\/p>\n

Not a bad place for Illinois to show up<\/p>\n

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Illinois\u2019 first College Football Playoff appearance was short-lived. Rocco Becht threw for 361 yards and four touchdowns to lead Iowa State past the Illini.<\/p>\n

For the Illini, Collin Dixon eclipsed 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns while Luke Altmyer set the single-season touchdown record for an Illinois quarterback with 28, adding two touchdown passes in the Cotton Bowl.<\/p>\n

End of Season Recap<\/strong><\/p>\n

For those who skipped the game summaries\u2014glad you\u2019re still here! For those who stuck with me through them, thank you!<\/p>\n

Illinois finished 10\u20133, falling in the CFP quarterfinals to Iowa State. Dixon broke the single-game touchdown reception record, and Altmyer set the program\u2019s single-season passing touchdown mark.<\/p>\n

If this happens in the fall? I\u2019ll have Josh Whitman on speed dial, begging him to build the statue of our savior, Bret Bielema.<\/p>\n

A College Football Playoff appearance this season would be nothing short of magical and would put a surging Illinois program on the map nationally. <\/p>\n

This was a lot of fun to do. Now, after a pure sim of the Illini (I seriously did not touch a thing), it\u2019s time for you and me to build a dynasty and take home some virtual national titles.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll leave my fellow sickos with some end-of-year stats below. Let\u2019s hope EA got it right. I-L-L.<\/p>\n

End of Year Stats<\/strong><\/p>\n

QB Luke Altmyer:<\/strong> 3,343 yards, 28 TDs, 6 INTs<\/p>\n

RB Kaden Feagin:<\/strong> 151 carries, 814 yards, 14 TDs<\/p>\n

RB Aidan Laughery (9 games):<\/strong> 164 carries, 733 yards, 11 TDs<\/p>\n

WR Collin Dixon:<\/strong> 71 receptions, 1,049 yards, 10 TDs<\/p>\n

TE Tanner Arkin:<\/strong> 64 receptions, 636 yards, 2 TDs<\/p>\n

WR Hudson Clement:<\/strong> 59 receptions, 616 yards, 2 TDs<\/p>\n

WR Justin Bowick:<\/strong> 38 receptions, 416 yards, 8 TDs<\/p>\n

LB Dylan Rosiek:<\/strong> 79 tackles, 1 INT<\/p>\n

CB Xavier Scott:<\/strong> 71 tackles<\/p>\n

EDGE Leon Lowery:<\/strong> 71 tackles, 16 TFLs, 12 sacks<\/p>\n

CB Torrie Cox:<\/strong> 65 tackles, 2 INTs<\/p>\n

CB Kaleb Patterson:<\/strong> 34 tackles, 4 INTs<\/p>\n

EDGE Gabe Jacas:<\/strong> 38 tackles, 15 TFLs, 8.5 sacks<\/p>\n

K David Olano:<\/strong> 15 of 18 FG, long of 53, 59 touchbacks<\/p>\n

P Keelan Crimmins:<\/strong> 13 punts inside the 20, 46.5-yard average<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In what is quickly becoming a national holiday for sports nerds, especially myself, EA Sports College Football \u201826…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":50525,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1911,5347,26980,2871,21428,1318,204,1818,38123,38121,1317,1315,1316,1424,9099,10201,62,448,38122,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-50524","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-as","9":"tag-by","10":"tag-champaign","11":"tag-college","12":"tag-ea","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-front-page","15":"tag-illinois","16":"tag-illinois-fighting-illini-football-news","17":"tag-magical","18":"tag-ncaa","19":"tag-ncaa-football","20":"tag-ncaafootball","21":"tag-playoff","22":"tag-room","23":"tag-run","24":"tag-sports","25":"tag-the","26":"tag-told","27":"tag-united-states","28":"tag-unitedstates","29":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114821484035145839","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}