How to watch Oregon vs. Illinois: FREE LIVE STREAM, TV channel for Big Ten game

The No. 1 Oregon Ducks will face the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday, October 26, 2024 (10/26/24) at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.

How to watch: Fans can watch the game for free through a trial of DirecTV Stream or fuboTV. You can also watch the show with a Sling TV subscription.

Here’s what you need to know:

What: College football game

WHO: Oregon vs. Illinois

When: Oct 26, 2024

Where: Autzen Stadium

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

Television: CBS

Live stream: DirecTV Stream or fuboTV

Here’s a college football story from the AP:

Oregon doesn’t care that it’s No. 1, but Illinois does.

The No. 20 Fighting Illini visit the Ducks on Saturday at Autzen Stadium with a chance to knock off the top-ranked team in the country. Illinois coach Bret Bielema said the ranking was a motivation for his team.

“It would be silly for me as a head coach to ignore it,” Bielema said this week. “We need to know that this is the No. 1 team in the country and there’s a reason why they’re No. 1. They are a very good football team, they perform very, very well.”

The Illini (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) have not played the top-ranked team in the country since 2007, when they beat Ohio State 28-21 on the road. Illinois finished 9-4 that season and played in the Rose Bowl.

Oregon (7-0, 4-0) sees the rankings very differently. When asked about this, coach Dan Lanning said, “Who cares?”

“I think it’s really easy for us when our messaging hasn’t changed all year. “You don’t sit in the middle of a meal and say you’re done eating when there’s still a lot of food on your plate,” Lanning explained. “Here we are: We are in the middle of the season. We’re not done yet. There are still many things we still want to achieve. So for us it’s not really important.”

Oregon defeated Purdue 35-0. But it was a 32-31 win over then-No. 2 Ohio State the week before that set a tone in the Ducks’ first season in the Big Ten.

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who is moving up in the Heisman conversation, leads the country with a 77% completion rate. He has 15 passing touchdowns and four rushing scores.

“When you have a quarterback in this environment with a team around him, it’s always a challenge,” Bielema said.

Gabriel’s counterpart from Illinois is Luke Altmyer, who has thrown 15 touchdowns with just one interception this season, which is the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in the Power Four. He completes 65.9% of his passes.

Altmyer threw for a touchdown and ran for another in Illinois’ 21-7 win over No. 24 Michigan last weekend. The win was the Illini’s third against a top-25 opponent this season – the team’s most since 2007.

The last time Oregon played Illinois was in 1995, the first home game for then-Ducks coach Mike Bellotti. Ricky Whittle rushed for three touchdowns and Oregon won 34-31 after falling behind at halftime.

Unsung hero

Bielema explained that left guard Josh Gesky was one of the team’s offensive MVPs this week as he held off highly touted Michigan defensive linemen Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, two likely NFL draft picks.

“Gesky’s journey started three years ago,” said Bielema. “To put him in a position to develop his body physically and mentally, the skills he developed with (offensive coach Bart Miller) and the offensive line, he played his best game since I’ve been here and arguably against two of them. “The best players he played against all year.”

Gesky, one of three offensive lineman for Illinois to start last season, didn’t dwell on his success against Michigan – especially with Oregon just around the corner.

“Yeah, but now I have to move it forward and now I have to bring it to Oregon,” Gesky told reporters. “I can’t live in the past. I have to look forward.”

Holden back

Lanning said receiver Traeshon Holden would be available for the game against Illinois after sitting out the Purdue game.

Holden was ejected in the first half against Ohio State for spitting on Buckeyes cornerback Davison Igbinosun. He later apologized on social media.

Lanning said Holden would face internal discipline. The receiver dressed but did not play against Purdue. Holden has 20 catches for 306 yards and three touchdowns this season.

Keep an eye on…

Illinois linebacker Gabe Jacas has 5.5 sacks with 42 total tackles this season, including 7.5 tackles for loss. Against Michigan, he had 13 tackles, including six solo tackles, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

“I think when you turn on the film you see the tireless effort of this defense throughout. Even when balls fall down the field, you can see them chasing and attacking the ball. They attack the ball consistently and you can tell they preach it,” Lanning said. “This doesn’t happen by accident and he’s certainly one of those who does.”