2017 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 2017 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. In their second season under head coach Lovie Smith, the Fighting Illini compiled a 2–10 record, finished in last place in the Big Ten's West Division, and were outscored by a total of 378 to 185.
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Jeff George Jr., running back Mike Epstein, wide receiver Ricky Smalling, and kicker Chase McLaughlin.
The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

Recruiting

Recruits

The Fighting Illini signed a total of 25 recruits.

Schedule

Illinois announced its 2017 football schedule on July 11, 2013. The 2017 schedule consisted of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Fighting Illini hosted Big Ten foes Indiana, Nebraska, Northwestern, Rutgers, Wisconsin, and traveled to Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Purdue.
The Fighting Illini hosted two of the three non-conference opponents, Ball State from the Mid-American Conference and Western Kentucky from Conference USA, and traveled to South Florida from the American Athletic Conference.