1972 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1972 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1972 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach Bob Blackman, the Illini compiled a 3–8 record and finished in a tie for sixth place in the Big Ten Conference.^[1]

1972 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	3–8 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bob Blackman (2nd season)
MVP	Larry McCarren, Larry Allen
Captain	Larry McCarren, John Wiza
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1971 1973 →

1972 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Ohio State +	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Purdue	6	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Michigan State	5	–	2	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Indiana	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Illinois	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Iowa	2	–	6	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Wisconsin	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	8	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mike Wells with 837 passing yards, running back George Uremovich with 611 rushing yards, and wide receiver Garvin Roberson with 569 receiving yards.^[2] Center Larry McCarren and defensive end Larry Allen were selected as the team's most valuable players.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	Michigan State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 0–24	55,493
September 23	No. 1 USC*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 20–55	61,277
September 30	at No. 14 Washington*	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 11–31	60,200
October 7	No. 16 Penn State*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 17–35	60,349
October 14	at No. 4 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	L 7–26	86,298
October 21	No. 6 Michigan	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 7–31	64,290	^[4]
October 28	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 14–20	61,754
November 4	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	W 43–13	35,235
November 11	Indiana	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 37–20	55,077
November 18	Wisconsin	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 27–7	45,703
November 25	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 14–15	25,000
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1972 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 54 Larry McCarren Sr QB 12 Mike Wells Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Bob Blackman Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

References

1. "1972 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. "1972 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.
4. Curt Sylvester (October 21, 1972). "U-M Rips Illinois for 6th in Row, 31–7". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E, 4E – via Newspapers.com.