The road trip continues for No. 11 Illinois (7-2, 2-2) as it heads to College Park, Maryland, for a showdown against No. 29 Maryland (8-5, 3-0) on Friday. Following that, the Illini will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey, to take on No. 13 Rutgers (10-3, 2-1) on Sunday.
This stretch marks a pivotal moment in Illinois’ season. After starting the season 6-0, the Illini have dropped two of their last three duals, including a tough loss to No. 2 Iowa (8-0, 2-0). With four matches before the Big Ten championships, the Illini must regroup and bounce back. These two ranked matchups will be a good opportunity to regain momentum and save their season.
What’s gone wrong for Illinois
After an undefeated start, the Illini seemed poised for a special season. However, a 1-2 start to the New Year left many fans wondering where things were going wrong. Illinois suffered its two losses to No. 5 Ohio State (11-0, 3-0) and Iowa, and the performances in these bouts exposed cracks in Illinois’ roster.
For one, the Illini have yet to figure out their issues in the 125-pound class. Illinois’ 125-pound junior Caelan Riley has now dropped to 0-8 in dual play and is clearly not the answer for Illinois in the position group.
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Illinois’ “big three” this year, including 133-pound redshirt senior Lucas Byrd, 165-pound redshirt freshman Braeden Scoles and 285-pound redshirt senior Luke Luffman, have been a treat for fans. Unfortunately, there might be red flags from this tandem.
In 2024, the trio went a combined 18-0 in dual play. In their three matches in 2025, the trio has posted a combined 5-4 record. While the Illini’s big three have been a bright spot this season, their recent struggles raise concerns about their consistency as the team faces its toughest stretch yet.
However, the recent losses have come at the hands of extremely tough opponents. Top-five ranked Ohio State and Iowa are consistently some of the best programs in college wrestling. These teams possess incredible depth and talent in all their weight classes, which is usually overwhelming for opponents.
While Illinois’ losses exposed weaknesses, it is clear Illinois is facing teams in a different class. The Illini must focus on improvement as their season continues, especially with the No. 1 Penn State Nittany Lions (8-0, 2-0) looming in their final match of the year.
How Illinois can turn it around
Illinois has a big weakness in its 125-pound weight class. Riley has struggled to find his feet throughout the season. Head coach Mike Poeta must find a fix, whether bringing in 125-pound graduate student Ramazan Attasauov or keeping faith in Riley to turn it around.
Illinois’ unbeaten run started with the big three. They have struggled in the last three duals, with Byrd losing his first match of the season. Although Luffman did stand out in their recent dual against Iowa, grabbing Illinois’ one of two wins, Illinois will need a resurgence from Scoles to get back into winning ways.
Illinois’ push for the rest of the season has to be fueled by the big three if they want to get back to winning and compete for the important championships.
Inside the Terrapin shell
Maryland has had an up-and-down season so far. The Terrapins started the season 4-0, then collapsed for a five-game losing streak and are currently on a four-game winning streak. They have had three ranked duals and were defeated in two of them.
They struggle in the 125-pound category, too, and are 3-10 in duals this season. The headline matchup will be in the 133-pound category as Illinois’ No. 3 Byrd will face off against undefeated Maryland’s No. 10 redshirt junior Braxton Brown.
Maryland has three top-15 wrestlers across weight categories as opposed to Illinois’ six. Illinois is unbeaten 8-0 in duals against Maryland since 2007. The Illini are statistically a better unit, and a win on this road trip will be crucial to them.
Battling the Scarlet Knights
Rutgers has dominated most of its duals this season. All of its wins have had a margin of 22 or more points. It came close against Ohio State, losing 15-17 in a tightly contested dual. The Scarlet Knights will go into Sunday’s fixture after taking on the top-seeded Nittany Lions on Friday.
Rutgers’ dual record across all weight categories has been impressive, and the variety of matchups has allowed them to try out multiple wrestlers at each weight category. Since 2015, Illinois has led the series 3-2 against Rutgers. With both teams battling it out for important Big Ten wins, it will be a tightly contested matchup. Illinois’ defense will be the key to restricting Rutgers’ aggressive playing style.
Championship on the line
Illinois closes out its road trip with this weekend’s North-Atlantic duals. The team returns home for the final two duals of the season against No. 27 Purdue (8-3, 1-2) on Military Appreciation Day and top-ranked Penn State on Senior Day.
The Illini have three duals to get before facing off the Nittany Lions to close the season. This final stretch will demonstrate this season’s fate and Illinois’ ability to end the year strong.
