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American college football season
The 1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an
American football team that represented the
University of Illinois during the
1944 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third year under head coach
Ray Eliot, the Illini compiled a 5–3–1 record, were ranked #15 in the final
AP Poll, and finished in sixth place in the
Big Ten Conference. The team lost three games to teams ranked in the top 10 in the AP Poll: #9-ranked
Notre Dame (7–13); #8-ranked
Michigan (0–14); and #2-ranked
Ohio State (12–26).
[1] Halfback
Buddy Young was selected as the team's most valuable player.
[2]
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
---|
September 16 |
Illinois State Normal* | | | W 79–0 | 5,386 |
[3] |
September 23 |
Indiana | | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL (
rivalry)
| W 26–18 | 7,986 | |
September 30 | at
Great Lakes Navy* | | | T 26–26 | 25,000 |
[4] |
October 7 |
Purdue | | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL (
rivalry)
| L 19–35 | 15,210 | |
October 14 |
Iowa | No. 14 | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| W 40–6 | 11,498 | |
October 21 | at
Pittsburgh* | | | W 39–5 | 15,000 | |
October 28 | No. 1
Notre Dame* | No. 14 | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| 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 | |
- *Non-conference game
- Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to the game
|
Rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked | Week |
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Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
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AP | 14 | — | 14 | 9 | 10 | — | — | — | 15 |
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References
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Venues | |
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |