1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
American college football season
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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).[1]
| 1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football | |
|---|---|
| |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 15 |
| Record | 5–4–1 (3–3 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
|
| MVP | Buddy Young |
| Captain | Game captains |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Ohio State $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Michigan | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Illinois | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 0 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.[2][3]
The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 16 | Illinois State Normal* | W 79–0 | 5,386 | [4] | ||
| September 23 | Indiana |
| W 26–18 | 7,986 | ||
| September 30 | at Great Lakes Navy* |
| T 26–26 | 25,000 | [5] | |
| October 7 | Purdue |
| L 19–35 | 15,210 | ||
| October 14 | Iowa | No. 14 |
| W 40–6 | 11,498 | |
| October 21 | at Pittsburgh* | W 39–5 | 15,000 | |||
| October 28 | No. 1 Notre Dame* | No. 14 |
| L 7–13 | 65,114 | |
| November 11 | at No. 8 Michigan | No. 10 | L 0–14 | 43,922 | ||
| November 18 | vs. No. 4 Ohio State | L 12–26 | 83,627 | |||
| November 25 | at Northwestern | W 25–6 | 38,000 | |||
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[6] Halfback Buddy Young was selected as the team's most valuable player.[7]
Rankings
| Week | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | 14 | — | 14 | 9 | 10 | — | — | — | 15 |
