The 1967 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1967 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Jim Valek, the Illini compiled a 4–6 record and finished in a tie for fifth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1]
| 1967 Illinois Fighting Illini football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Record | 4–6 (3–4 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Ellis Rainsberger (1st season) |
| MVP | John Wright |
| Captain | Ron Bess, Ken Kmiec |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Indiana + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Purdue + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 6 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 8 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 0 | – | 6 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 9 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Dean Volkman with 1,005 passing yards, running back Rich Johnson with 768 rushing yards, and wide receiver John Wright with 698 receiving yards.[2] Wright was selected as the team's most valuable player.[3]
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 23 | at Florida* | L 0–14 | 57,391 | [4] | |
| September 30 | Pittsburgh* | W 34–6 | 51,251 | ||
| October 7 | Indiana |
| L 7–20 | 53,550 | |
| October 14 | Minnesota |
| L 7–10 | 56,103 | |
| October 21 | Notre Dame* |
| L 7–47 | 71,227 | |
| October 28 | at Ohio State | W 17–13 | 83,928 | ||
| November 4 | No. 6 Purdue |
| L 9–42 | 61,262 | |
| November 11 | Michigan |
| L 14–21 | 44,236 | [5] |
| November 18 | at Northwestern | W 27–21 | 36,679 | ||
| November 25 | at Iowa | W 21–19 | 35,714 | ||
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This was the first season since 1952 in which Illinois faced Iowa, following the chaos of their last matchup.[6]
References
edit- ^ "1967 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ^ "1967 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ^ "Florida tumbles Illinois, 14–0". The Pantagraph. September 24, 1967. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Curt Sylvester (November 12, 1967). "U-M Comes to Life for 21-14 Win". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 20C – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Dochterman, Scott (June 11, 2011). "Special report: How pass interference, a jawbreaker and tossed apples nearly canned the Iowa-Illinois football rivalry". The Gazette. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
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