1948 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1948 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1948 Big Nine Conference football season. In their seventh year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Illini compiled a 3–6 record and finished in eighth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1] End James Valek was selected as the team's most valuable player.[2]

1948 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Nine Conference
Record3–6 (2–5 Big Nine)
Head coach
MVPJim Valek
CaptainHerb Siegert
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1947
1949 →
1948 Big Nine Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Michigan $ 6 0 0 9 0 0
No. 7 Northwestern 5 1 0 8 2 0
No. 16 Minnesota 5 2 0 7 2 0
Ohio State 3 3 0 6 3 0
Iowa 2 4 0 4 5 0
Purdue 2 4 0 3 6 0
Indiana 2 4 0 2 7 0
Illinois 2 5 0 3 6 0
Wisconsin 1 5 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Illinois was ranked at No. 23 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System ratings for 1948.[3]

Schedule edit

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 25Kansas State*W 40–029,593
October 2at WisconsinL 16–2045,000[4]
October 9No. 5 Army*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 21–2671,119
October 16at No. 11 MinnesotaL 0–662,066
October 23Purdue
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 10–656,451
October 30at No. 1 MichiganL 20–2885,872
November 6Iowa
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 14–041,502
November 13Ohio State
L 7–3465,732[5]
November 20at No. 7 NorthwesternL 7–2047,000
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References edit

  1. ^ "1948 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  3. ^ "Michigan, Irish Finish 1-2 in Litkenhous Ratings". Wilmington Morning News. December 15, 1948. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Badgers Tally in Last 3 Minutes to Shade Illini: Self Climaxes Thriller With 2 Yard Plunge". The Pantagraph. October 3, 1948. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "Buckeyes Roll Over Illini". Wisconsin State Journal. United Press. November 14, 1948. p. 38. Retrieved October 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.