Illinois Falls at #4 UCLA on Friday Night - University of Illinois Athletics

Friday, November 13

Pasadena, Calif.

8 PM CT

University of Illinois

6-4 , 4-3

UCLA

10-0 , 7-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Illinois	0	0	7	7	14
UCLA	7	3	2	10	22

November 13, 2026 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

RECAP

PASADENA, Calif. – Illinois saw its four-game winning streak come to an end with a 22-14 defeat at #4 UCLA at a rainy Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., on Friday night. The Fighting Illini stormed back with two second-half touchdowns, but it was not enough to take down the undefeated Bruins away from home.

"You've got two good teams battling it out," said head coach Bret Bielema. "They made more plays and took advantage of the moment better than we did."

Katin Houser threw for two touchdowns, finding Collin Dixon for the 13th time this season, while Kaden Feagin hauled in his first receiving score of the year.

James Kreutz registered a team-high 10 tackles, including three tackles for loss, as Illinois held the Bruins to a season-low 108 rushing yards. Juice Clarke recorded the first interception of his career, which came in the second quarter, while Ismael Kante tallied his first sack as an Illini.

Illinois (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) had the ball twice in the fourth quarter down only one possession, including taking over with 6:10 left and trailing by only five points. A seven-play 22-yard drive stalled out, UCLA added a field goal, and Illinois could not drive the length of the field while trailing by eight in the final two minutes.

"I thought our guys battled," said Bielema. "We talked all week about making this a four-quarter game and keeping it within one score. We've been in a bunch of those situations. We came back in the fourth quarter, and I think that provides really good evidence of this team's makeup and grittiness."

Illinois returns to Gies Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 21 for its home finale and Senior Day game against #16/15 Iowa. Kickoff from Champaign is set for 1:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network, while limited tickets remain available at FightingIllini.com/tickets.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

POSTGAME NOTES

The Fighting Illini defense held the Bruins to a season-low 108 rushing yards.
- Illinois held UCLA without a rushing touchdown for the first time this season.
Kaden Feagin caught three passes for 49 yards and a touchdown.
- Hauled in his first receiving TD of the season on Illinois' final drive of the third quarter to pull the Illini within 12-7.
  - Fourth receiving TD of his career (16th total TD), and his first since making the switch from RB to TE in the offseason.
  - First TD reception since recording a 64-yard catch and run in the Illini's home win vs. #21 USC (9/27/25).
Collin Dixon hauled in four passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.
- Extended his Illinois single-season record for receiving TDs with his 13th of the season to cut the Illinois deficit to 19-14 at the 7:14 mark in the fourth quarter.
  - Has at least one touchdown in eight of 10 games this season.
Juice Clarke had three tackles with an interception.
- Recorded his first-career interception in the second quarter, halting a UCLA drive with an interception in the end zone at the 7:20 mark of the second quarter.
Ismael Kante tallied five tackles and had a sack.
- Notched his first-career sack on third down to force a UCLA punt on the Bruins' opening drive of the second half.
James Kreutz registered a team-high 10 total tackles, including three solo stops and three tackles for loss.
- Posted a career-high 3.0 tackles for loss, nearly doubling his season total of 3.5 TFLs entering the contest.