Maryland · W 20-17
14 carries, 46 yards
The other 7 games average 73 yards. This one was 27 below.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
Laughery against Illinois’s best seasons, game by game
Backs who run like Laughery, and how their seasons went
Laughery against this year’s top backs, game by game
The road ahead: 560 yards, 70 a game, 4 regular-season games left.
Over the last few games, Illinois fans have been high on Laughery's big plays.
“Laughery showing why he should've been RB1 all along”
“Laughery has been a DAWG today”
From r/CFB game threads. Read by AI.
Share of the team's total this season.
Each line is one carry: taller means more yards, and a line pointing down lost yards. Black lines are touchdowns. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside each lane the carries are lined up shortest to longest, not placed. Of his carries with a spot in the play text: left 21, middle 58, right 9. His longest went for 77 yards.
Aidan Laughery
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Five seasons in the Illinois backfield to date. The first career honor came in 2024: All-Big Ten. One game to point at: 123 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD against Oregon — Week 8, 2026.
560 rushing yards · 2 rushing TD · 89 carries
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 46 rushing yards, 2 catches.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-23vs UAB | 8 | 29 | 3.6 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 2 | L 27-31vs Duke | 10 | 37 | 3.7 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 3 | W 48-10vs Southern Illinois | 4 | 93 | 23.3 | 1 | 77 | |
| Wk 4 | L 19-42@ No. 7 Ohio State | 11 | 113 | 10.3 | 0 | 37 | |
| Wk 5 | L 17-24vs Purdue | 12 | 49 | 4.1 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 6 | W 38-37@ Michigan State | 17 | 70 | 4.1 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 8 | W 21-10vs Oregon | 13 | 123 | 9.5 | 1 | 75 | Season-high 123 yds |
| Wk 9 | W 20-17@ Maryland | 14 | 46 | 3.3 | 0 | 11 | |
| Total | 89 | 560 | 6.3 | 2 | 77 |
Oct. 31 · W 20-17 at Maryland, play by play
14 carries for 46 yards.
11-yard run. Second quarter, down 7-0.
13 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown, his most this season.
75-yard touchdown run. Second quarter, cut it to 10-7.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
17 carries for 70 yards. In the fourth quarter, with Illinois ahead by one score, he carried 4 times for 13 yards. He also caught 4 passes for 24 yards.
3-yard catch on 4th and 2. First quarter, up 3-0. Converted.
11-yard run on 3rd and 5. Second quarter, up 10-0. Converted.
5-yard catch on 3rd and 6. Fourth quarter, up 31-24.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
12 carries for 49 yards.
13-yard run on 3rd and 7. First quarter, down 3-0. Converted.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
11 carries for 113 yards.
37-yard run. First quarter, down 14-0.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
4 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown.
77-yard touchdown run. First quarter, made it 14-7.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
10 carries for 37 yards.
9-yard run. First quarter, tied 7-7.
1-yard run on 3rd and 2. Second quarter, up 10-7.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
8 carries for 29 yards.
2-yard run on 3rd and 3. Second quarter, up 14-6.
7-yard run on 3rd and 1. Third quarter, up 21-13. Converted.
17-yard catch. Fourth quarter, up 28-16.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
Week 8 · 2026
W 21-10
vs Oregon
123 rush yds (13 car) · 1 TD
With L. Rau — 44.5 yards per punt · 8 punts · 3 inside the 20 · M. Clayton II — 84 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 38.0
The plays that mattered most
62nd in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -10 to +29 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
38%89 carriesFumble rate
1.1%1 of 89 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds6.3 yds/carry on 89 carries · 12% explosive (10+ yds) · 38% success rate.
5 seasons under Bret Bielema — 37-22 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 66.2 | 8.8 | 0.4 |
| Road3g | 76.3 | 5.9 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 65.2 | 8.2 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 84.5 | 6.4 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Pass share
49.5%
243 pass / 248 run
Plays / game
61.4
8 games
Team sack rate
3.7%
271 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
89 carries and 10 catches in 8 games, about as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #74 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #30 of 44 Big Ten RBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 38 games over five seasons.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Bret Bielema.
