1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
The 1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1951 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 10th year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Illini compiled a 9–0–1 record, finished in first place in the Big Ten Conference, was ranked #4 in the final AP Poll, and defeated Stanford 40–7 in the 1952 Rose Bowl. The lone setback was a scoreless tie with Ohio State.[1] Illinois defeated Stanford 40 to 7 in the 1952 Rose Bowl, the first nationally televised college football game.[citation needed] The team was named co-national champion by Boand, which split its selection with Georgia Tech.[2]
| 1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 3 |
| AP | No. 4 |
| Record | 9–0–1 (5–0–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
|
| MVP | Chuck Boerio |
| Captain | Chuck Studley |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
Seasons | |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Illinois $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Wisconsin | 5 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 1 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Al Brosky had an NCAA career record 29 interceptions, including an NCAA record 15-game streak covering the entire 1951 season.[3] He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
Halfback Johnny Karras was a consensus first-team pick on the 1951 College Football All-America Team.[4] Linebacker Chuck Boerio was selected as the team's most valuable player.[5]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 29 | UCLA* | No. 10 | W 27–13 | 53,265 | |
| October 6 | Wisconsin | No. 8 |
| W 14–10 | 56,207 |
| October 13 | at Syracuse* | No. 7 | W 41–20 | 30,000 | |
| October 20 | at No. 20 Washington* | No. 8 | W 27–20 | 54,000 | |
| October 27 | at Indiana | No. 4 | W 21–0 | 33,000 | |
| November 3 | No. 15 Michigan | No. 3 |
| W 7–0 | 71,119 |
| November 10 | Iowa | No. 2 |
| W 40–13 | 56,444 |
| November 17 | at Ohio State | No. 3 | T 0–0 | 79,457 | |
| November 24 | at Northwestern | No. 6 | W 3–0 | 52,000 | |
| January 1 | No. 7 Stanford* | No. 4 | W 40–7 | 96,825 | |
| |||||
Players
- Chuck Boerio, center (1st-team All-America pick by NEA; 1st-team All-Big Ten pick by AP)
- Al Brosky, halfback (1st-team All-America pick by AP and Football Writers)
- Johnny Karras, halfback (consensus 1st-team All-American; 1st-team All-Big Ten pick by AP and UP)
- Rex Smith, end (1st-team All-Big Ten pick by AP)
- Chuck Studley, tackle (1st-team All-Big Ten pick by AP and UP)
- Chuck Ulrich, tackle (1st-team All-America pick by INS; 1st-team All-Big Ten pick by AP and UP)
- Bill Tate Rose Bowl MVP
Roster
| Player | Position |
| Jim Catlin | |
| Cliff Waldbeser | |
| John Ryan | End |
| Bob Lenzini | Guard |
| Don Stevens | Fullback |
| Bill Tate | Fullback |
| Steve Nosek | Offensive End |
| John Bauer | Guard, Tackle |
| Jim Baughman | Guard |
| Marshall Dusenbury | |
| Tom Murphy | |
| Sam Rebecca | Tackle, Placekicker |
| Al Brosky | End, Defensive Back |
| Don Engels | Quarterback |
| Paul Luhrsen | |
| Lawrence Stevens | |
| Bob Weddell | Tackle |
| Dan Peterson | |
| Bob Rylowicz | |
| Chuck Ulrich | Defensive tackle |
| Frank Wodziak | End |
| Johnny Karras | Halfback |
| Rex Smith | End |
| Don Ernst | |
| Richard Jenkins | |
| Don Gnidovie | |
| Joe Cole | |
| Joe Vernasco | End |
| Marvin Berschet | Defensive End, Guard |
| Chuck Boerio | Linebacker |
| Pete Bachouros | Back |
| Rudy Valentino | |
| Herb Neathery | Back |
| Elie Popa | |
| Tom O'Connell | Quarterback |
| Clarence DeMoss | Halfback |
| Herb Borman | |
| Dan Sabino | |
| Chuck Studley (Captain) | Guard |
| Ken Miller | |
| Stan Wallace | Defensive Back |
| Don Tate | |
| Claude Taliaferro | Back |
- Head coach: Ray Eliot (10th year at Illinois)
References
- ^ "1951 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ^ 2017 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2017. p. 113. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- ^ "2018 FOOTBALL BOWL SUBDIVISION RECORDS" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 17.
- ^ (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 28, 2016.