Matthew Bailey
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Five seasons in the Illinois secondary to date. On tape: 14 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Ohio State, Week 4, 2026.
55 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
55 tackles. 1 pass defended. 1 interception. 3.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 6 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-23vs UAB | 8 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | L 27-31vs Duke | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 48-10vs Southern Illinois | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 19-42@ No. 7 Ohio State | 14 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 14 tackles |
| Wk 5 | L 17-24vs Purdue | 9 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 38-37@ Michigan State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 21-10vs Oregon | 8 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 20-17@ Maryland | 6 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 55 | 35 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
Oct. 31 · W 20-17 at Maryland, play by play
6 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 3 tackles for loss, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Illinois’s defense played that day
Maryland’s 10 drives: 7 stopped (2 takeaways) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 7 of 10.
8 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
A big game: 14 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 15 for him; the box score credits 14.
A defensive touchdown: his interception went 88 yards for the score. 2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted on 4th and 3, returned 88 yards for the score. Fourth quarter, made it 41-10.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
8 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
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).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
2%1 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
55tackles this seasonTFL rate
6%4 TFL55 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 1 pass breakup · 1 interception.
5 seasons under Bret Bielema — 37-22 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 6.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 8.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 7.0 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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
55 tackles in 8 games, more tackles a game than nearly every FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #72 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #32 of 77 Big Ten DBs
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%).
The No. 1,774 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the Big Ten.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 41 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Bret Bielema.
