Michigan State · W 38-37
No carries.
Oregon · W 21-10
No carries.
Maryland · W 20-17
No carries.
Valentine has carries in 5 of Illinois’s 8 games: none against Michigan State, Oregon and Maryland.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
Over the last few games, Illinois fans have been high on Valentine.
“I could excuse the first down runs if we still had Valentine”
“Valentine continues to vindicate me saying that he should have gotten more playing time last year.”
“Valentine is soooo good”
From r/CFB game threads. Read by AI.
4 stories in the last 60 days, from 5 outlets.
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 3, middle 37, right 10. His longest went for 51 yards.
Ca'Lil Valentine
Third year in the same backfield at Illinois. A game that shows it: 88 rushing yards and 4 receiving yards against UAB — Week 1, 2026.
225 rushing yards · 1 rushing TD · 50 carries
Play style
Does a little of everything without one standout trait.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 5 outlets
Writing Illini +1 Oct 4 · 2 outlets
from 6 outlets
Writing Illini +1 Oct 4 · 2 outlets
Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedSports IllustratedEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Fans first named Ca'Lil Valentine vs UAB.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 5 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-23vs UAB | 11 | 88 | 8.0 | 1 | 51 | Season-high 88 yds |
| Wk 2 | L 27-31vs Duke | 18 | 56 | 3.1 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 3 | W 48-10vs Southern Illinois | 9 | 33 | 3.7 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 4 | L 19-42@ No. 7 Ohio State | 10 | 47 | 4.7 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 5 | L 17-24vs Purdue | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 50 | 225 | 4.5 | 1 | 51 |
2 carries for 1 yards.
1-yard run. First quarter, down 3-0.
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.
10 carries for 47 yards.
33-yard catch. Second quarter, down 21-7.
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.
9 carries for 33 yards.
1-yard run on 3rd and 3. First quarter, up 14-7.
8-yard run. Third quarter, up 34-10.
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.
18 carries for 56 yards. He converted a 3rd and 1 with Illinois down 31-27.
The per-play feed is missing a 10-yard loss in the first quarter (the play drew a penalty), which the play text shows; the chart draws the 17 carries it has.
9-yard catch. First quarter, tied 7-7.
4-yard run on 3rd and 1. Fourth quarter, down 31-27. Converted.
1-yard loss on 3rd and 3. Fourth quarter, down 31-27.
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 88 yards and a touchdown, his most this season.
51-yard touchdown run. First quarter, made it 14-3.
2-yard run on 3rd and 1. Third quarter, up 21-13. 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.
Week 1 · 2026
W 42-23
vs UAB
88 rush yds (11 car) · 1 TD
With K. Houser — 182 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 98.9 · 29 rush yds (3 car) · 1 TD · M. Resetich — 4 tackles · 4 solo tackles
The plays that mattered most
307th in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position
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
47%49 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.5 yds/carry on 50 carries · 8% explosive (10+ yds) · 47% success rate.
3 seasons under Bret Bielema — 24-10 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 5 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 44.5 | 3.8 | 0.2 |
| Road1g | 47.0 | 4.7 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 45.0 | 4.0 | 0.2 |
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
About as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Recognition
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #31 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 30 games over three seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Bret Bielema.
