June 22, 2026 · Dead Period · Heritage Window · 2026 Outlook

Illinois College

8-3 2025 final

Jacksonville's Blueboys climbed to 8–2 in 2025 under Ray DeFrisco's 50-win tenure — steady ascent through Midwest Conference ranks.

Quiet weeks in Blueboys country.

Record

8-3

win% .727

Conference

2nd of 10

Midwest · 7-2

Index Rating

56.7

D3 #69 of 240

Playoff Path

Win the league

Dead PeriodOffseasonPatientPost-loss — diagnostic

The Long Wait·Offseason

Jacksonville's Blueboys climbed to 8–2 in 2025 under Ray DeFrisco's 50-win tenure — steady ascent through Midwest Conference ranks.

Standard GapA historic Illinois institution rebuilding steady success under a coach…

LIVE as of 2026-06: Illinois College went 8–2 overall, 7–2 MWC in 2025, with Head Coach Ray DeFrisco reaching 50+ career wins. The program is mid-ascent, not arriving but climbing — DeFrisco's tenure represents a 10+ year rebuild…

low signal

Read the full program story ↓

Offseason

69 days

until kickoff · Sun Aug 30 · 17:00 UTC

Act I

The 2026 Outlook

DIVISION III · THE PATH TO THE STAGG BOWL

Illinois College sits 2nd in the Midwest Conference and 69th of 240 in the CFB Zeitgeist — outside the at-large picture — the path runs through the conference title.

Midwest · 2025

	Team	Conf	Overall	Index
1	Monmouth (IL)	9-0	9-2	63.2
2	Illinois College	7-2	8-3	56.7
3	Chicago	7-2	7-3	56.0
4	Lake Forest College	7-2	7-3	55.0
5	Ripon	5-4	5-5	47.3
6	Cornell College (IA)	4-5	4-6	45.7
7	Knox College	2-6	2-7	37.3
8	Grinnell	2-7	2-8	35.1

56.7 CFB Zeitgeist#69 of 240 D346.0 strength of schedule1 quality win

Win the Midwest Conference for the automatic berth into the 40-team NCAA Division III bracket. Miss it and the path is an at-large bid, selected by NPI — the metric the CFB Index mirrors. Six wins survive the bracket to the Stagg Bowl.

Source: CFB Zeitgeist — conference records + NPI-style rating from 2025 games · the field is 40 teams, NPI-selected

THE 2025 SEASON · 8-3

Signature win 59-0 over Lawrence University; toughest day 14-49 against Aurora.

—

Quiet weeks in Blueboys country.

What moved it — offseason · last 30 days

June Dead-period quiet — official-visit + heritage window —

Camp Fall camp ~40 days out

"Go Illinois College" — Illinois College fanbase · recurring line

0 mentions · awaiting signal

Winning record—

The baseline for a successful season.

Conference title—

The primary goal and national bracket path.

32-team bracket qualifierLocked—

One of 32 national tournament entries.

Stagg BowlLocked—

The Division III national championship game.

Floor 6-6

Base 8-4

Ceiling 11-1

floor6-6Competitive but likely outside bracket contention.

base8-4Conference title contender. Bracket bid realistic.

ceiling11-1Deep playoff run. Program-defining year.

Variance assumed at ±2 wins from last-season record. Replace with the season-path projection once preview data is built.

Act II

Who We Are

Home-Field Advantage · Illinois College · 2018-present

Elite

85% home win rate vs 65% on the road. margin runs +17.2 better at home.

Home17-3Away13-7

Act III

Last Season Reviewed

2025 season · tap to expand

Recent Form · last 10 games

Warming

Four of five. The board favors this trend.

Streak L1Last 5 · 4-1Last 10 · 7-3

Schedule Strength · Illinois College · 2025

Soft

Average opponent win rate 43% across 11 finalized games. Lighter schedule — the committee weighs wins against strength of field.

Opp Win %0.437

Moment of the Year · Illinois College · 2025

Won 28-9 vs Greenville

Week 2 of 2025. The single game that defined the season's arc.

Decisive Margin

Postseason History

Recent postseason (2023): 0-1

Most recent: 2023 — loss 49-14 (away). Last 5 postseason: 0-1.

2023

From the Archive — Illinois College

2025: Won 28-25 vs Lake Forest College

In 2025, the program won 28-25 vs Lake Forest College — a tight home result that left the 3-point margin on the books.

Go Blueboys.