One piece of good news for Illinois Football in 2018? The Illini avoid cross-divisional games against Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State in its schedule. The bad news? Penn State is there, an opponent the Illini haven’t played since 2015 and haven’t played in Champaign since ‘14.
The 2018 Illinois vs. Penn State game will take place at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on a Friday night on FS1, the second-straight year the Illini have a game on a Friday. It represents the Big Ten opener for both teams, to be played on Sept. 21.
“I don’t expect many more than two [Friday night Big Ten] games a season, but I do expect to have those continue into the future” Commissioner Jim Delany said at Big Ten Media Days when asked about the Friday Big Ten football slate.