1953 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

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1953 Illinois Fighting Illini football
1953 Illinois Fighting Illini football team.jpg
Big Ten co-champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 7
1953 record7–1–1 (5–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
  • Ray Eliot (12th season)
MVP
Captain
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1952
1954 →
1953 Big Ten Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Michigan State + 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
No. 7 Illinois + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 1
No. 15 Wisconsin 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1
Ohio State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Minnesota 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
No. 20 Michigan 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
No. 9 Iowa 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 1
Purdue 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Indiana 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1953 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1953 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 12th year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Illini compiled a 7–1–1 record, finished in a tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference, and were ranked #7 in the final AP Poll. The sole defeat was a 34–7 loss to Wisconsin.[1]

Tackle Don Ernst was selected as the team's most valuable player.[2] Sophomore halfback J. C. Caroline led the team with 1,256 rushing yards on 194 attempts (6.5 yards per carry) and was selected as a consensus first-team player on the 1953 College Football All-America Team.[3] Guard John Bauer was selected by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as a third-team All-American.[4]

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteResult
September 26Nebraska*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
T 21–21
October 3Stanford*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 33–21
October 10at No. 3 Ohio State
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)
W 41–20
October 17MinnesotaNo. 9
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 27–7
October 24Syracuse*No. 7
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 20–13
October 31PurdueNo. 4
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 21–0
November 7No. 17 MichigandaggerNo. 4
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (series)
W 19–3
November 14at WisconsinNo. 3
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
L 7–34
November 21at NorthwesternNo. 7
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL (rivalry)
W 3–0
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster[]

Player Position
Peter Palmer
Robert Bishop
John Ryan End, Defensive Back
(captain) Guard
Guard
Quarterback
John Bauer Guard, Tackle
David Bauer Defensive Back
Dale Foster
James Pollitt
James Calder
Donald Ernst
Francis Hoffman
End
Donald Bostrom
James Bronson
Em Lindbeck
Patrick Phillips
Jerry Markbreit
George Walsh
Halfback
James Minor
Terry Matthews
Kenneth Miller Fullback
Stan Wallace Defensive Back
James Dunne
Robert Alexander
Richard Piggott
Thomas Miller Placekicker
J. C. Caroline Halfback, Defensive Back
Fullback
Quarterback
  • Head Coach: Ray Eliot (12th year at Illinois)

References[]

  1. ^ "1953 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. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  4. ^ Harry Grayson (1953-11-29). "Harry Grayson Picks All-America for 1953". Independent Record. Helena, Montana.
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