1961 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1961 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1961 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach Pete Elliott, the Illini compiled a 0–9 record and finished in last place in the Big Ten Conference. Guard Tony Parrilli was selected as the team's most valuable player.

1961 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	0–9 (0–7 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pete Elliott (2nd season)
MVP	Tony Parrilli
Captain	Gary Brown
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1961 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Ohio State $	6	–	0	–	0			8	–	0	–	1
No. 6 Minnesota	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Michigan State	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Purdue	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Michigan	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Iowa	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Indiana	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Illinois	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 30	Washington*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 7–20	41,319–54,752
October 7	Northwestern	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	L 7–28	40,138
October 14	at No. 7 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	L 0–44	82,374
October 21	Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 0–33	52,247
October 28	at USC*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 10–14	28,694
November 4	Purdue	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	L 9–23	35,077
November 11	Michigan	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	L 6–38	40,179
November 18	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 7–55	45,122
November 25	at No. 8 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 7–34	38,344
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game