Our side
MoneylineUCLA to win
ours 58%
Projected score
21–29
ILL – UCLA
2026-11-13 · 9:00 PM
Rose Bowl · Pasadena, CA
B1G game
Early season
The books
No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.
Series
UCLA and Illinois split 12 (6–6)
· 12 meetings since 1946
2025 unit ranks —
last completed season, from games actually played
Run game
edge Illinois Fighting Illini
127 ranks
Illinois Fighting Illini #124 rush offense
UCLA Bruins #251 run defense
Pass game
edge Illinois Fighting Illini
186 ranks
Illinois Fighting Illini #38 pass offense
UCLA Bruins #224 pass defense
Run game
even
11 ranks apart
UCLA Bruins #71 rush offense
Illinois Fighting Illini #60 run defense
Pass game
edge Illinois Fighting Illini
66 ranks
UCLA Bruins #245 pass offense
Illinois Fighting Illini #179 pass defense
Illinois Fighting Illini
Balanced · 54% run
Ball-control
UCLA Bruins
Balanced · 50% run
Ball-control
Dual-threat QB · 46 rush ypg
Bret Bielema · 56-45 · offense-minded
Tim Skipper · 9-13
Ranked by team-unit strength
(rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265
D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the
2025 season.
The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above
Who carried each team in 2025
Illinois Fighting Illini
WR
Collin Dixon
17 rec · 236 yds · 5 TD
#5 WR
QB
Katin Houser
453 pass yds · 6 TD · 1 INT
#8 QB
LB
Ismael Kante
10 tkl · 0.5 TFL
#45 LB
LB
Will Holmes
10 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL
#102 LB
UCLA Bruins
RB
Wayne Knight
168 rush yds · 6 TD · 2 rec
#7 RB
DB
Ta'Shawn James
13 tkl · 1 PD · 2 INT
#16 DB
LB
Sammy Omosigho
19 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 4.0 TFL
#26 LB
LB
Jalen Woods
20 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.5 TFL
#31 LB
Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their
position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no
2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for
these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.
Power breakdown
Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).
Where the number comes from
Illinois offense vs UCLA defense-0.7 pts
UCLA offense vs Illinois defense+0.9 pts
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 1,690 mi
An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have
played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.
Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest
were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them.
Adding them again would double-count.