CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1941 Illinois

2–⁠6 (0–⁠5 Western Conference), coached by Robert Zuppke.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 1941, game by game: won vs. Miami (OH) 45–0; lost at Minnesota 6–34; won vs. Drake 40–0; lost at No. 7 Notre Dame 14–49; lost vs. No. 7 Michigan 0–20; lost vs. Iowa 0–21; lost at No. 20 Ohio State 7–12; lost at No. 10 Northwestern 0–27+45−35Won 45–0 vs. Miami (OH)+45Miami (OH)Lost 6–34 at Minnesota-28MinnesotaWon 40–0 vs. Drake+40DrakeLost 14–49 at No. 7 Notre Dame-35No. 7 Notre DameLost 0–20 vs. No. 7 Michigan-20No. 7 MichiganLost 0–21 vs. Iowa-21IowaLost 7–12 at No. 20 Ohio State-5No. 20 Ohio StateLost 0–27 at No. 10 Northwestern-27No. 10 Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Oct 4vsMiami (OH)W 45–⁠091%
Oct 11atMinnesotaL 6–⁠3418%
Oct 18vsDrakeW 40–⁠058%
Oct 25at7Notre DameL 14–⁠4917%
Nov 1vs7MichiganL 0–⁠2027%
Nov 8vsIowaL 0–⁠2149%
Nov 15at20Ohio StateL 7–⁠1218%
Nov 22at10NorthwesternL 0–⁠2717%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 27–⁠0; unranked in the final AP poll; 9th in the Western Conference.

In program history: The 115th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1941.

Record
2–⁠6
Conference
0–⁠5 9th in Western Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
112–⁠163
Coach
Robert Zuppke
Elo
1379 −46 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−2.5 No. 74 of 119 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Most valuable player
Nate Johnson

1941 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Minnesota5–⁠08–⁠01
Michigan3–⁠1–⁠16–⁠1–⁠15
Ohio State3–⁠1–⁠16–⁠1–⁠113
Northwestern4–⁠25–⁠311
Wisconsin3–⁠33–⁠5
Iowa2–⁠43–⁠5
Purdue1–⁠32–⁠5–⁠1
Indiana1–⁠32–⁠6
Illinois0–⁠52–⁠6

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