2020 Illinois Fighting Illini football team explained

Year:2020
Team:Illinois Fighting Illini
Sport:football
Conference:Big Ten Conference
Division:West Division
Short Conf:Big Ten
Record:2–6
Conf Record:2–6
Head Coach:Lovie Smith
Hc Year:5th
Hc Games:first 7 games
Head Coach2:Rod Smith
Hc Games2:remainder of season
Off Coach:Rod Smith
Oc Year:3rd
Def Coach:Lovie Smith (first seven games)
Stadium:Memorial Stadium

The 2020 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2020 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 fifth-year head coach Lovie Smith.

On July 9, 2020, the Big Ten announced that member teams will only play conference games in effort to reduce issues related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[1] On August 11, the Big Ten canceled the college football season for the fall of 2020 due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.[2] [3] [4] On September 16, the Big Ten reinstated the season, announcing an eight-game season beginning on October 24.[5]

Prior to the team's final game, Smith was relieved of his coaching duties.[6] The team finished the season with a record of 2–6.

Schedule

Illinois had games scheduled against Illinois State, UConn, and Bowling Green, but canceled these games on July 9 due to the Big Ten Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

[8]

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2021 NFL draft.

3 87 OG Pittsburgh Steelers
5 167 CB Las Vegas Raiders

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Big Ten to play conference-only football schedule for 2020 season amid COVID-19 pandemic. 2020-07-15. CBSSports.com. July 9, 2020 . en.
  2. Web site: Big Ten cancels college football season for fall 2020, hopes to play in spring 2021. 2020-08-11. CBSSports.com. August 11, 2020 . en.
  3. West. Jenna. Big Ten Postpones Fall Sports, Including Football. 2020-08-11. Sports Illustrated. August 11, 2020 . en-us.
  4. Web site: 2020-08-11. Big Ten nixes fall football season, eyes spring. 2020-08-11. ESPN.com. en.
  5. Web site: The Big Ten Conference Adopts Stringent Medical Protocols; Football Season to Resume October 23-24, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200916150241/https://bigten.org/news/2020/9/16/the-big-ten-conference-adopts-stringent-medical-protocols-football-season-to-resume-october-23-24-2020.aspx . dead . September 16, 2020 . . September 16, 2020. September 16, 2020.
  6. Web site: Illini Head Coach Lovie Smith Out After Five Seasons. 2020-12-14. www.msn.com.
  7. Web site: Myerberg . Paul . Big Ten football reduces season schedule to only conference games, maybe setting stage for others to follow . USA TODAY . 10 July 2020.
  8. Web site: 2020 Illinois Football Schedule . FBSchedules.com . September 23, 2020.