1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football
National champion
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 40–7 vs. Stanford
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
AP No. 4
1951 record 9–0–1 (5–0–1 Big Ten)
Head coach Ray Eliot (10th year)
Captain Chuck Studley
Home stadium Memorial Stadium
1951 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#4 Illinois $ 5 – 0 – 1     9 – 0 – 1
Purdue 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 0
#8 Wisconsin 5 – 1 – 1     7 – 1 – 1
Michigan 4 – 2 – 0     4 – 5 – 0
Ohio State 2 – 2 – 2     4 – 3 – 2
Northwestern 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 4 – 0
Minnesota 1 – 4 – 1     2 – 6 – 1
Indiana 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 7 – 0
Iowa 0 – 5 – 1     2 – 5 – 2
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1951 college football season. In their 10th year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Illini compiled a 9–0–1 record, finished in first place in the Big Ten Conference, was ranked #4 in the final AP Poll, and defeated Stanford 40–7 in the 1952 Rose Bowl. The lone setback was a scoreless tie with Ohio State.[1]

The team currently is the school's last national champion in football with a 40 to 7 rout of Stanford in what was the first nationally televised college football game. Additionally, there is one NCAA record that remains unbroken today, and may stand the test of time. Al Brosky had a career record 30 interceptions during the season, including a DiMaggio like record of 16 consecutive games with an interception. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

Halfback Johnny Karras was a consensus first-team pick on the 1951 College Football All-America Team.[2]

Players

Roster

Player Position
Jim Catlin
Cliff Waldbeser
John Ryan End
Bob Lenzini Guard
Don Stevens Fullback
Bill Tate Fullback
Steve Nosek Quarterback
John Bauer Guard, Tackle
Jim Baughman Guard
Marshall Dusenbury
Tom Murphy
Sam Rebecca Tackle, Placekicker
Al Brosky End, Defensive Back
Don Engels Quarterback
Paul Luhrsen
Lawrence Stevens
Bob Weddell Tackle
Dan Peterson
Bob Rylowicz
Chuck Ulrich Defensive Tackle
Frank Wodziak End
Johnny Karras Halfback
Rex Smith End
Don Ernst
Richard Jenkins
Don Gnidovie
Joe Cole
Joe Vernasco End
Marvin Berschet Defensive End, Guard
Chuck Boerio Linebacker
Pete Bachouros Back
Rudy Valentino
Herb Neathery Back
Elie Popa
Tom O'Connell Quarterback
Clarence DeMoss Halfback
Herb Borman
Dan Sabino
Chuck Studley (Captain) Guard
Ken Miller
Stan Wallace Defensive Back
Don Tate
Claude Taliaferro Back

Schedule

Date Opponent# Rank# Site Result Attendance
09/29/1951 UCLA* No. 10 Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL W 27–13   53,265
10/06/1951 Wisconsin No. 8 Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL W 14–10   56,207
10/13/1951 Syracuse* No. 7 Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY W 41–20   30,000
10/20/1951 Washington #20* No. 8 Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA W 27–20   54,000
10/27/1951 Indiana No. 4 Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN W 21–0   33,000
11/03/1951 Michigan #15 No. 3 Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL W 7–0   71,119
11/10/1951 at Iowadagger No. 2 Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL W 40–13   56,444
11/17/1951 Ohio State No. 3 Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH T 0–0   79,457
11/24/1951 Northwestern No. 6 Dyche Stadium • Evanston, IL W 3–0   52,000
01/01/1952 Stanford* No. 4 The Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA W 40–7   96,825
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game.

References

  1. ↑ "1951 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. ↑ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
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