# 2017 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 2017 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Fighting Illini played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Lovie Smith. They finished the season 2–10, 0–9 in Big Ten play to finish in last place in the West Division.

## Recruiting
### Position key

| Back | B | Center | C | Cornerback | CB | Defensive back | DB |
| Defensive end | DE | Defensive lineman | DL | Defensive tackle | DT | End | E |
| Fullback | FB | Guard | G | Halfback | HB | Kicker | K |
| Kickoff returner | KR | Offensive tackle | OT | Offensive lineman | OL | Linebacker | LB |
| Long snapper | LS | Punter | P | Punt returner | PR | Quarterback | QB |
| Running back | RB | Safety | S | Tight end | TE | Wide receiver | WR |

### Recruits

The Fighting Illini signed a total of 25 recruits.
US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Mike Epstein RB | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | St. Thomas Aquinas HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 6, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Ricky Smalling WR | Chicago, Illinois | Brother Rice HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 189 lb (86 kg) | Apr 26, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Kendall Smith WR | Bolingbrook, Illinois | Bolingbrook HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Apr 26, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Cameron Thomas QB | Richton Park, Illinois | Marian Catholic HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | May 31, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Vederian Lowe OG | Rockford, Illinois | Auburn HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 352 lb (160 kg) | Jun 12, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Marc Mondesir LB | Chicago, Illinois | St. Rita HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jun 12, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Tony Adams WR | St. Louis, Missouri | St. Louis University HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 12, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Larry Boyd OG | St. Louis Missouri | Trinity Catholic HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 310 lb (140 kg) | Aug 13, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Carmoni Green WR | Miami, Florida | Miami Central HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | Aug 25, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Olalere Oladipo DE | Huntley, Illinois | Huntley HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 238 lb (108 kg) | Aug 25, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Ra'Von Bonner RB | Cincinnati, Ohio | Sycamore HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 27, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Del'Shawn Phillips LB | Highland Park, Michigan | Garden City Community College | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Dec 14, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Howard Watkins OG | Cincinnati, Ohio | Colerain HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | Dec 19, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Kendrick Green DT | Peoria, Illinois | Peoria HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | Dec 22, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Nate Hobbs CB | Louisville, Kentucky | Male HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Dec 23, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Owen Carney DE | Miami, Florida | Miami Central HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 232 lb (105 kg) | Dec 25, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| James Knight S | East St. Louis, Illinois | East St. Louis HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jan 16, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Louis Dorsey TE | Jacksonville, Florida | Ribault HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jan 21, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Alex Palczewski OT | Prospect, Illinois | Plant HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 260 lb (120 kg) | Jan 20, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Deon Pate DE | Jacksonville, Florida | Trinity Christian Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 246 lb (112 kg) | Jan 30, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Bennett Williams CB | Watsonville, California | Saint Francis HS | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | Jan 31, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Dawson DeGroot S | Fort Myers, Florida | Fort Myers HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jan 31, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Jamal Woods DE | Hueytown, Alabama | Hueytown HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Bobby Roundtree DE | Largo, Florida | Largo HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Isaiah Gay DE | Rocky Mount, North Carolina | Northern Nash HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Feb 10, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Illinois Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017. "2017 Illinois Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017. |||||||

## Schedule

Illinois announced its 2017 football schedule on July 11, 2013. The 2017 schedule consisted of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Fighting Illini hosted Big Ten foes Indiana, Nebraska, Northwestern, Rutgers, Wisconsin, and traveled to Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Purdue.
The Fighting Illini hosted two of the three non-conference opponents, Ball State from the Mid-American Conference and Western Kentucky (WKU) from Conference USA, and traveled to South Florida from the American Athletic Conference.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 11:00 a.m. | Ball State* | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | BTN | W 24–21 | 42,505 |
| September 9 | 7:00 p.m. | Western Kentucky* | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | BTN | W 20–7 | 41,923 |
| September 15 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 22 South Florida* | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ESPN | L 23–47 | 35,404 |
| September 29 | 7:00 p.m. | Nebraska | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | FS1 | L 6–28 | 43,058 |
| October 7 | 11:00 a.m. | at Iowa | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | BTN | L 16–45 | 69,894 |
| October 14 | 11:00 a.m. | Rutgers | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | BTN | L 24–35 | 35,675 |
| October 21 | 2:30 p.m. | at Minnesota | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | L 17–24 | 45,243 |
| October 28 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 5 Wisconsin | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | ESPN | L 10–24 | 42,101 |
| November 4 | 11:00 a.m. | at Purdue | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN (rivalry) | BTN | L 10–29 | 46,027 |
| November 11 | 11:00 a.m. | Indiana | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (rivalry) | BTN | L 14–24 | 40,195 |
| November 18 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 8 Ohio State | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH (rivalry) | ABC | L 14–52 | 105,282 |
| November 25 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 23 Northwestern | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (rivalry) | FS1 | L 7–42 | 30,456 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to gameAll times are in Central time |||||||
    Schedule Source:

## Game summaries
### Ball State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| Fighting Illini | 6 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 24 |

### WKU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Fighting Illini | 3 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 20 |

### At South Florida

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 2 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 23 |
| No. 22 Bulls | 9 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 47 |

### Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cornhuskers | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| Fighting Illini | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |

### At Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| Hawkeyes | 7 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 45 |

### Rutgers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Scarlet Knights | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Fighting Illini | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 24 |

### At Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| Golden Gophers | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 24 |

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 5 Badgers | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Fighting Illini | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |

### At Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Boilermakers | 7 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 29 |

### Indiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hoosiers | 0 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
| Fighting Illini | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |

### At Ohio State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Buckeyes | 28 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 52 |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
| Fighting Illini | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |