Illinois 20-17 Maryland (Oct 31, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Illinois · Maryland

Illinois5-320

Maryland2-617Final

Sat, Oct 31 · SECU Stadium, College Park, Md. · Crowd 27,207

Illinois beat Maryland 20-17.

We had Illinois favored. It won.

Next: Illinois vs Nebraska, Fri Nov 6 · 8:00 PM ET · Illinois underdog by 4.5

Next: Maryland at Purdue, Sat Nov 7 · 12:30 PM ET · Maryland underdog by 6.5

What a run by Barnett. Hope he stays in Champaign. He's going to be a good one.

An Illinois fan

How it swung

The turning point: Barnett 64-yd TD run, Illinois goes ahead 17-14 (Q4, 14:50). Illinois went from 33% to 58% to win.

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Illinois a 63% chance, and the closing betting line (Illinois was a 3-point favorite) put it at 60%.

Last play we haveIllinois 20-17 MarylandPlay-by-play ends earlyMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

The two plays that swung it

1Q4 14:50Barnett 64-yd TD run, Illinois goes ahead 17-14Illinois 33% → 58% (+25)
2Q4 0:00Moczulski 26-yd field goal, Illinois goes ahead 20-17Illinois 74% → 99% (+25)

The two plays that swung it

1Q4 14:50Barnett 64-yd TD run, Illinois goes ahead 17-14Maryland 67% → 42% (−25)
2Q4 0:00Moczulski 26-yd field goal, Illinois goes ahead 20-17Maryland 26% → 1% (−25)

He 1000% scored, was fairly clear in live action, but this is not a call that we get. I also don't even think Illinois recovered.

Q1 11:28 · A Maryland fan · r/CFB game thread

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q1 11:28Fans argue officials missed a Maryland touchdown on Williams' runI don’t get how they didn’t call it a td on the field it seemed obvious to mer/CFB game thread
Q1 7:05Maryland fans celebrate Washington's designed run touchdown as proof of Big Ten toughnessDesigned QB runs? And they said we weren't Big Ten.r/CFB game threadBased on what i’ve seen so far 100% agreedr/CFB game thread
Q4 0:24Well that was a gross football game....well anyways time to go finish the Michigan vs Rutgers football gamer/CFB game threadWe may actually still make a bowl game!r/CFB game thread

Illinois’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Illinois -3), at 52% for Illinois (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a Maryland or Illinois flair (215 and 225); both sides share one scale, regulation only.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show Illinois’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

Illinois scored on 4 of its 11 drives; Maryland on 3 of its 11.

Illinois’s drives are teal, Maryland’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

From Maryland’s side

Maryland’s best moment: Houser intercepted by Delhomme at the UMD45, returned 43 yards (Q1 13:11). It lifted Maryland’s win chance by 18 points.

How Maryland fans took it: “When will coaches learn you don’t call a timeout on the play that gains a first down since it burns less clock” r/CFB game thread

When fans got loud

Loud

Fans had the most to say in the opening quarter.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was loud; the crowd was quiet.

Box score

Illinois 20, Maryland 17

The game landed on the closing spread. The total, 37, stayed under 54.5.

Team totals	Illinois	Maryland
Total yards	407	288
Passing	18 of 32, 223 yds	19 of 29, 190 yds
Rushing	33 for 184 yds	29 for 98 yds
First downs	20	17
Third down	4 of 11	6 of 14
Fourth down	0 of 0	1 of 1
Turnovers	1	2
Penalties	3 for 15 yds	1 for 5 yds
Time of possession	29:46	30:14

Illinois leaders

Passing Katin Houser 18 of 32, 223 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Javari Barnett 6 for 80 yds, 1 TD; Aidan Laughery 14 for 46 yds
Receiving Collin Dixon 6 for 103 yds; Hudson Clement 5 for 49 yds

Maryland leaders

Passing Malik Washington 19 of 29, 190 yds, 1 INT
Rushing DeJuan Williams 19 for 57 yds, 1 TD; Malik Washington 5 for 25 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Chris Durr Jr. 6 for 58 yds; Kaleb Webb 3 for 46 yds

No rain through the game

58° at kickoff · no rain recorded

The usual here around this date is 53°, with about 7 in 10 games between 46° and 61°.

October game-day temperatures at SECU Stadium

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

Third quarter, 11:49 left1:56 p.m.

Illinois 7, Maryland 14 · Maryland 81% to win

no rain · 62°

Washington 4-yd pass to Durr

Measured at College Park airport, 1.5 miles away. Wind and rain are airport readings near the stadium, not on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last three games

Illinois · 4-3

Rated 70th in our preseason ratings, 72nd now.

2-1 in its last three, capped by a 11-point win over Oregon as a 10.5-point underdog.

W 21-10 vs OregonTop 25 No. 9 of 668 teams

won by 11 as a 10.5-point underdog

W 38-37 @ Michigan State No. 132 of 668 teams

won by 1 as a 2.5-point favorite

L 17-24 vs Purdue No. 106 of 668 teams

lost by 7 as a 9.5-point favorite

L 19-42 @ Ohio StateTop 25 No. 2 of 668 teams

lost by 23 as a 25.5-point underdog

W 48-10 vs Southern Illinois No. 154 of 668 teams

won by 38 as a 34.5-point favorite

L 27-31 vs Duke No. 67 of 668 teams

lost by 4 as a 6-point favorite

W 42-23 vs UAB No. 55 of 668 teams

won by 19 as a 25.5-point favorite

Last three games

Maryland · 2-5

Rated 76th in our preseason ratings, 106th now, down 30 spots.

Three straight losses.

L 30-37 vs Rutgers No. 91 of 668 teams

lost by 7 as a 5.5-point favorite

L 16-45 @ Ohio StateTop 25 No. 2 of 668 teams

lost by 29 as a 31.5-point underdog

L 23-48 @ Nebraska No. 19 of 668 teams

lost by 25 as a 15.5-point underdog

L 3-54 vs UCLATop 25 No. 36 of 668 teams

lost by 51 as a 2.5-point underdog

L 26-35 vs Virginia Tech No. 40 of 668 teams

lost by 9 as a 2.5-point underdog

W 38-14 @ UConn No. 116 of 668 teams

won by 24 as an 11.5-point favorite

W 62-0 vs Hampton No. 265 of 668 teams

won by 62 as a 45.5-point favorite

Week by week

Maryland

Wk 3Lvs Virginia Tech26-35
Wk 4Lvs UCLA3-54
Wk 5Lat Nebraska23-48
Wk 6Lat Ohio State16-45
Wk 7Lvs Rutgers30-37

Illinois

Wk 3Wvs Southern Illinois48-10
Wk 4Lat Ohio State19-42
Wk 5Lvs Purdue17-24
Wk 6Wat Michigan State38-37
Wk 8Wvs Oregon21-10

Power rating by week

Illinois is rated 3.3 points ahead as of week 8. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: Illinois’s EPA/play against Maryland, 53 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

Illinois’s EPA/play against Maryland’s defense
Illinois offense, 81st percentile · Maryland defense, 28th
Illinois’s rushing EPA against Maryland’s defense
Illinois offense, 83rd percentile · Maryland defense, 39th
Illinois’s explosive plays against Maryland’s defense
Illinois offense, 79th percentile · Maryland defense, 42nd

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

IllinoisMaryland

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

The series

The series is tied 2-2

4 meetings since 2018 · Illinois has won the last 2

2025Illinois 24-6
2023Illinois 27-24
2021Maryland 20-17
2018Maryland 63-33

Each line is Maryland’s chance to win through that meeting. Maryland is 1-1 in the meetings since 2018 that were still close in the fourth quarter.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Illinois fans are feeling it more than most fanbases this week (63rd percentile among FBS fanbases), in line with the numbers.

Illinois favored by 3 · Total 54.5

The market

The total rose 2 points.

The books’ cut: 4.3%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

Maryland is worth +2.9 points (±5.1) more at home than on the road since 2018 — bottom third of FBS, 28th percentile.

42% at home, 32% on the road against FBS opponents (20-28 home, 13-28 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -0.7 at home vs. away over 95 games — inside the ±7.5 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

The visitors travel about 606 miles to get here.

The story going in

Maryland names interim head coachOct 21, 2026
Maryland fires head coach LocksleyOct 21, 2026

Last meeting in our History pages

Illinois 27, Maryland 24Oct 14, 2023

Our History pages cover 2 of their meetings since 2021.

Where next

Conference standings

Going into this game: place in the conference, then conference record.

Maryland16th0-4
Illinois8th2-2

Full Big Ten standings

Illinois beats Maryland 20-17