1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football 1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football team.jpg 285 Big Ten Conference Big Ten 15 5–4–1 3–3 Ray Eliot 3rd Buddy Young Game captains Memorial Stadium The 1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1944 Big Ten season. In their third year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Fighting Illini compiled a 5–3–1 record (3–3 in conference games), finished in sixth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 273 to 149. They were ranked No. 15 in the final AP poll and lost three games to teams ranked in the top 10 in the AP poll: No. 9 Notre Dame (13–7); No. 8 Michigan (14–0); and No. 2 Ohio State (26–12).1945 Illinois Schedule and Results Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football July 27, 2025 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/illinois/1944-schedule.html Halfback Buddy Young was selected as the team's most valuable player. Young and guard Ralph "Babe" Serpico received first-team honors from both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP) on the 1944 All-Big Ten Conference football team.All-Western Conference Team The Logan Daily News November 27, 1944 5 https://www.newspapers.com/image/87289320/?terms=ponsetto%2Bdugger%2BassociatedFour Ohio State Stars Named on the All-Conference Team The Milwaukee Journal (UP story) November 22, 1944 6 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19441122&id=EjIdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GiMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2320,2793204 The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. Schedule 1944 AP September 16 w y Illinois State Normal Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL 79–0 5,386 Bartlett Charles Illinois Unveils Flock of Fleet Backs; Crushes Normal, 79 to 0 https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune/127607802/ July 4, 2023 Chicago Tribune September 17, 1944 2:1 Newspapers.com September 23 w Indiana Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL rivalry 26–18 7,986 September 30 t y y Great Lakes Navy Ross Field Great Lakes, IL 26–26 25,000 Illinois Holds Bluejackets to 26 to 26 Tie Chicago Tribune October 1, 1944 II-1, II-3 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17859537/illinois_holds_bluejackets_to_26_to_26/ Newspapers.com October 7 l Purdue Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL rivalry 19–35 15,210 October 14 w 14 Iowa Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL 40–6 11,498 October 21 w y y Pittsburgh Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA 39–5 15,000 October 28 l y 14 Notre Dame 1 Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL 7–13 65,114 November 11 l y 10 Michigan 8 Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI rivalry 0–14 43,922 November 18 l y Ohio State 4 Cleveland Stadium Cleveland, OH Illibuck 12–26 83,627 November 25 w y Northwestern Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL rivalry 25–6 38,000 1944 Illinois Schedule and Results Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football December 16, 2015 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/illinois/1944-schedule.html Halfback Buddy Young was selected as the team's most valuable player.Fighting Illini Football Record Book University of Illinois 2015 December 28, 2016 155 http://sidearm.sites.s3.amazonaws.com/fightingillini.com/documents/2015/8/3/3_History_7_30.pdf November 29, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201129040612/http://sidearm.sites.s3.amazonaws.com/fightingillini.com/documents/2015/8/3/3_History_7_30.pdf dead Rankings 1944 college football rankings AP 1 9 14 NR 14 9 10 NR NR NR 15 References Illinois Category:Illinois Fighting Illini football seasons Illinois Fighting Illini football