CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1940 Illinois

1–⁠7 (0–⁠5 Western Conference), coached by Robert Zuppke.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 1940, game by game: won vs. Bradley 31–0; lost vs. USC 7–13; lost at No. 3 Michigan 0–28; lost vs. No. 2 Notre Dame 0–26; lost at Wisconsin 6–13; lost at No. 10 Northwestern 14–32; lost vs. Ohio State 6–14; lost at Iowa 7–18+31−28Won 31–0 vs. Bradley+31BradleyLost 7–13 vs. USC-6USCLost 0–28 at No. 3 Michigan-28No. 3 MichiganLost 0–26 vs. No. 2 Notre Dame-26No. 2 Notre DameLost 6–13 at Wisconsin-7WisconsinLost 14–32 at No. 10 Northwestern-18No. 10 NorthwesternLost 6–14 vs. Ohio State-8Ohio StateLost 7–18 at Iowa-11Iowa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Oct 5vsBradleyW 31–⁠087%
Oct 12vsUSCL 7–⁠1334%
Oct 19at3MichiganL 0–⁠2823%
Oct 26vs2Notre DameL 0–⁠2633%
Nov 2atWisconsinL 6–⁠1345%
Nov 9at10NorthwesternL 14–⁠3221%
Nov 16vsOhio StateL 6–⁠1436%
Nov 23atIowaL 7–⁠1830%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Iowa 18–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; 9th in the Western Conference.

In program history: The 112th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
1–⁠7
Conference
0–⁠5 9th in Western Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
71–⁠144
Coach
Robert Zuppke
Elo
1388 −98 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
0.1 No. 64 of 121 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Thomas J. Riggs
Most valuable player
George Bernhardt

1940 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Minnesota6–⁠08–⁠01
Michigan3–⁠17–⁠13
Northwestern4–⁠26–⁠28
Ohio State3–⁠34–⁠4
Wisconsin3–⁠34–⁠4
Iowa2–⁠34–⁠4
Indiana2–⁠33–⁠5
Purdue1–⁠42–⁠6
Illinois0–⁠51–⁠7

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.