1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

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1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football
1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football team.jpg
Co-national champion (Boand)
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 40–7 vs. Stanford
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 4
1951 record9–0–1 (5–0–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
  • Ray Eliot (10th season)
MVPChuck Boerio
CaptainChuck Studley
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1950
1952 →
1951 Big Ten Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
No. 4 Illinois $ 5 – 0 – 1     9 – 0 – 1
Purdue 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 0
No. 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 Big Ten Conference 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] Illinois defeated Stanford 40 to 7 in the 1952 Rose Bowl, the first nationally televised college football game.[citation needed] The team was named co-national champion by Boand, which split its selection with Georgia Tech.[2]

Al Brosky had an NCAA career record 29 interceptions, including an NCAA record 15-game streak covering the entire 1951 season.[3] 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.[4] Linebacker Chuck Boerio was selected as the team's most valuable player.[5]

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 29UCLA*No. 10
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 27–1353,265
October 6WisconsinNo. 8
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 14–1056,207
October 13at Syracuse*No. 7
  • Archbold Stadium
  • Syracuse, NY
W 41–2030,000
October 20at No. 20 Washington*No. 8
  • Husky Stadium
  • Seattle, WA
W 27–2054,000
October 27at IndianaNo. 4
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Bloomington, IN
W 21–033,000
November 3No. 15 MichiganNo. 3
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 7–071,119
November 10IowadaggerNo. 2
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 40–1356,444
November 17at Ohio StateNo. 3
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
T 0–079,457
November 24at NorthwesternNo. 6
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
W 3–052,000
January 1No. 7 Stanford*No. 4
  • Rose Bowl
  • Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)
W 40–796,825
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Players[]

  • Chuck Boerio - center (1st-team All-America pick by NEA; 1st-team All-Big Ten pick by AP)
  • Al Brosky - halfback (1st-team All-America pick by AP and Football Writers)
  • Johnny Karras - halfback (consensus 1st-team All-American; 1st-team All-Big Ten pick by AP and UP)
  • Rex Smith - end (1st-team All-Big Ten pick by AP)
  • Chuck Studley - tackle (1st-team All-Big Ten pick by AP and UP)
  • Chuck Ulrich - tackle (1st-team All-America pick by INS; 1st-team All-Big Ten pick by AP and UP)
  • Bill Tate Rose Bowl MVP

Roster[]

Player Position
John Ryan End
Guard
Fullback
Bill Tate Fullback
Quarterback
John Bauer Guard, Tackle
Guard
Tom Murphy
Tackle, Placekicker
Al Brosky End, Defensive Back
Don Engels Quarterback
Lawrence Stevens
Tackle
Dan Peterson
Chuck Ulrich Defensive Tackle
End
Johnny Karras Halfback
Rex Smith End
Richard Jenkins
Joe Cole
End
Marvin Berschet Defensive End, Guard
Chuck Boerio Linebacker
Back
Rudy Valentino
Back
Tom O'Connell Quarterback
Halfback
Chuck Studley (Captain) Guard
Ken Miller
Stan Wallace Defensive Back
Don Tate
Back
  • Head Coach: Ray Eliot (10th year at Illinois)

References[]

  1. ^ "1951 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. ^ 2017 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2017. p. 113. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "2018 FOOTBALL BOWL SUBDIVISION RECORDS" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 17.
  4. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  5. ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
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