1974 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1974 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois in the 1974 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fourth year under head coach Bob Blackman, the Illini compiled a 6–4–1 record and finished in fifth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1]

1974 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record6–4–1 (4–3–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPTom Hicks, Jeff Hollenbach
CaptainTy McMillin, Revie Sorey
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1973
1975 →
1974 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Ohio State + 7 1 0 10 2 0
No. 3 Michigan + 7 1 0 10 1 0
No. 12 Michigan State 6 1 1 7 3 1
Wisconsin 5 3 0 7 4 0
Illinois 4 3 1 6 4 1
Purdue 3 5 0 4 6 1
Minnesota 2 6 0 4 7 0
Iowa 2 6 0 3 8 0
Northwestern 2 6 0 3 8 0
Indiana 1 7 0 1 10 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Jeff Hollenbach with 1,037 passing yards, running back Chubby Phillips with 772 rushing yards, and wide receiver Joe Smalzer with 525 receiving yards.[2] Hollenbach and linebacker Tom Hicks were selected as the team's most valuable players.[3]

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 14IndianaW 16–040,911
September 21at No. 19 Stanford*W 41–747,500
September 28Washington State*No. 16
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 21–1940,594
October 5California*No. 14
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 14–3154,378
October 12at PurdueW 27–2363,174
October 19Michigan State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
T 21–2155,677
October 26at IowaL 12–1449,400
November 2at No. 1 Ohio StateL 7–4987,813
November 9No. 4 Michigan
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
L 6–1460,670
November 16at MinnesotaW 17–1431,423
November 23Northwestern
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 28–1433,753
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

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  1. ^ "1974 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "1974 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.