Breaking down and analyzing the 2021 Illinois football schedule with the best and worst case scenarios.

Illinois Football Schedule 2021

Full schedule analysis with best and worst scenarios below

– 2021 Big Ten Football Schedule

Aug. 28 Nebraska

Sept. 4 UTSA

Sept. 11 at Virginia

Sept. 18 Maryland

Sept. 25 at Purdue

Oct. 2 Charlotte

Oct. 9 Wisconsin

Oct. 16 OPEN DATE

Oct. 23 at Penn State

Oct. 30 Rutgers

Nov. 6 at Minnesota

Nov. 13 OPEN DATE

Nov. 20 at Iowa

Nov. 27 Northwestern

Dec. 4 Big Ten Championship (in Indianapolis)

Games vs. The East: Maryland, at Penn State, Rutgers

Missed Teams From The East: Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State

Illinois Football Schedule Analysis: The Bret Bielema era starts out in at home against Nebraska, and a trip to Virginia a few weeks later doesn’t help. UTSA and Charlotte aren’t total layups, but the team deserves the break.

Missing Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State isn’t bad, but the Penn State game is on the road. In the division, hosting Wisconsin helps, but back-to-back games away from Champaign against Penn State and Minnesota stings.

Illinois Football Schedule Best Case Scenario: Illinois pulls off another win over Nebraska making a loss at Virginia no big deal. Beating Maryland at home and pulling off a slight stunner at Purdue highlight a 5-1 start before hosting Wisconsin. Taking out Rutgers is a must, and in the start of a new era, beating Northwestern is huge on the way to a bowl game.

Illinois Football Schedule Worst Case Scenario: The Illini drop the opener against Nebraska, lost to Virginia, and can’t get by Maryland. That puts the pressure on the road game at Purdue – and they lose that, too. The second half doesn’t get any better with only an upset win somewhere highlighting a rough run before dropping the season finale against Northwestern.