CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (Chambana Today) — The Big Ten Conference and FOX Sports have announced that Illinois’ home matchup against top-ranked Ohio State will kick off at 11 a.m. CT (12 p.m. ET) on Saturday, October 11, at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign. The game will be televised nationally on FOX.
The showdown marks the first meeting between the teams since 2017 and the first time Ohio State visits Illinois since 2015, with the historic Illibuck Trophy on the line. The Illini currently sit at #22 in the national rankings with a 4-1 record (1-1 Big Ten), while Ohio State holds the top spot at 4-1 (1-0 Big Ten).
Before the high-stakes home game, Illinois travels to Purdue this Saturday for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff on Big Ten Network. Ohio State will host Minnesota later that day at 6:30 p.m. CT on NBC.
This week also brought individual honors for two Illini standouts following their 34-32 win over #21 USC:
-
Quarterback Luke Altmyer was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for four total touchdowns—one each passing, rushing, and receiving—along with 359 yards of offense. He became the first Big Ten player in at least 30 years to hit those marks in a single game, and the first Illini to do so since Kurt Kittner in 1999.
-
Kicker David Olano earned Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his game-winning 41-yard field goal as time expired, sealing the victory over USC. Olano went a perfect 6-for-6 on kicks in the game, and has been nearly flawless all season, converting 6-of-7 field goals and 24-of-24 extra points.
Altmyer’s game-winning drive was his sixth in the final minute or overtime over the last three seasons—the most in the nation.
