1971 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1971 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record5–6 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPTerry Masar
Captains
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1971 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Michigan $ 8 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
Northwestern 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Ohio State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Michigan State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
5 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 1
Minnesota 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Purdue 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Indiana 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Iowa 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1971 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Bob Blackman, the Illini compiled a 5–6 record and finished in a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten Conference.[1]

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mike Wells with 1,007 passing yards, running back John Wilson with 543 rushing yards, and wide receiver Garvin Roberson with 372 receiving yards.[2] Punter/halfback Terry Masar was selected as the team's most valuable player.[3]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 11at Michigan State
L 0–1042,083
September 18North Carolina*
L 0–2749,591[4]
September 25at No. 16 USC*
L 0–2849,390
October 2No. 15 Washington*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 14–5248,127
October 9No. 15 Ohio State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (Illibuck)
L 10–2453,555
October 16at No. 3 Michigan
L 6–3573,406[5]
October 23No. 17 Purdue
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 21–752,344
October 30Northwestern
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 24–740,144
November 6at Indiana
W 22–2123,018
November 13at Wisconsin
W 35–2765,459
November 20Iowa
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 31–040,703
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1971 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OT 76 Mike Dobrzeniecki Jr
OT 73 Bruce Dobson So
OT 79 Dennis Driscoll Jr
TE 86 Bob Dubrish So
G 64 Bob Elledge Jr
G 56 John Gann So
C 54 Larry McCarren Jr
C 51 Gerry Sullivan So
QB 12 Mike Wells Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 52 Larry Allen Jr
DE 75 Tab Bennett Jr
DB 24 Jamie Dufelmeier Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster

References

  1. ^ "1971 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "1971 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  4. ^ "North Carolina blasts Illinois". The Indianapolis Star. September 19, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "U-M Rambles; UM 35, Illinois 6". Detroit Free Press. p. 1C, 7C – via Newspapers.com.
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