1942 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1942 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1942 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first season under head coach Ray Eliot, the Illini compiled a 6–4 record and finished in a tie for third place in the Big Ten Conference.^[1] End Elmer Engel was selected as the team's most valuable player.^[2]

1942 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	6–4 (3–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ray Eliot (1st season)
MVP	Elmer Engel
Captain	Jimmy Smith
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1941 1943 →

1942 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Ohio State $	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Wisconsin	4	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	1
No. 9 Michigan	3	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Illinois	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Iowa	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
No. 19 Minnesota	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Indiana	2	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Purdue	1	–	4	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	South Dakota*		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 46–0	7,500
October 3	Butler*		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 67–0	10,000
October 10	Minnesota		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 20–13	24,276
October 17	at No. 19 Iowa	No. 5	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 12–7	25,600
October 24	No. 8 Notre Dame*	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 14–21	43,476
October 31	at No. 13 Michigan	No. 12	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 14–28	33,826
November 7	at Northwestern	No. 20	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	W 14–7	35,300
November 14	vs. No. 10 Ohio State	No. 13	Cleveland Stadium Cleveland, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	L 20–44	68,586
November 21	Great Lakes Navy*		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 0–6	10,856	^[3]
November 28	at Camp Grant*		Camp Grant Rockford, IL	W 20–0	5,000	^[4]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1942 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. "Sweiger Score Tips Illini, 6-0". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune and Star Journal. November 22, 1942. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Vaughan, Irving (November 29, 1942). "Illinois Beats Camp Grant by 20 to 0 Margin". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. B2.