1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record5–6 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPs
  • Eddie Jenkins
  • Octavus Morgan
Captains
  • John Gann
  • Ken Braid
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1973 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Ohio State + 7 – 0 – 1 10 – 0 – 1
No. 6 Michigan + 7 – 0 – 1 10 – 0 – 1
Minnesota 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Michigan State 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Purdue 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Northwestern 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Wisconsin 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Indiana 0 – 8 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Iowa 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third year under head coach Bob Blackman, the Illini compiled a 5–6 record and finished in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1]

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Jeff Hollenbach with 916 passing yards, running back George Uremovich with 519 rushing yards, and wide receiver Garvin Roberson with 416 receiving yards.[2] Halfback Eddie Jenkins and defensive end Octavus Morgan were selected as the team's most valuable players.[3]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 15at Indiana
W 28–1451,433
September 223:30 p.m.at California*
W 27–722,000
September 29West Virginia*
L 10–1748,107[4]
October 62:57 p.m.Stanford*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 0–2445,383
October 13Purdue
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 15–1354,252
October 20at Michigan State
W 6–363,303
October 27Iowa
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 50–048,864
November 3No. 1 Ohio State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (Illibuck)
L 0–3060,707
November 10at No. 4 Michigan
L 6–2176,461[5]
November 17Minnesota
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 16–1934,438
November 24at Northwestern
L 6–926,117
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Personnel

1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 19 Jeff Hollenbach Jr
RB 23 Eddie Jenkins Sr
QB 11 Tom McCartney Sr
RB 33 Lonnie Perrin Jr
WR Garvin Roberson
RB George Uremovich
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL 40 Octavius Morgan Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P Phil Vierneisel
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injured
    • Redshirt

    Roster

    References

    1. ^ "1973 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
    2. ^ "1973 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. ^ "West Virginia deals Illini first loss, 17–10". Lansing State Journal. September 30, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
    5. ^ Curt Sylvester (November 11, 1973). "U-M Beats Illinois' 21–6: Overcomes 6 Fumbles". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E, 5E. Retrieved June 27, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
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