CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1947 Illinois

5–⁠3–⁠1 (3–⁠3 Western Conference), coached by Ray Eliot.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 1947, game by game: won vs. Pittsburgh 14–0; won at Iowa 35–12; tied vs. No. 5 Army 0–0; won vs. No. 13 Minnesota 40–13; lost at Purdue 7–14; lost vs. No. 2 Michigan 7–14; won vs. Western Michigan 60–14; won at Ohio State 28–7; lost vs. Northwestern 13–28+46−15Won 14–0 vs. Pittsburgh+14PittsburghWon 35–12 at Iowa+23IowaTied 0–0 vs. No. 5 Army0No. 5 ArmyWon 40–13 vs. No. 13 Minnesota+27No. 13 MinnesotaLost 7–14 at Purdue-7PurdueLost 7–14 vs. No. 2 Michigan-7No. 2 MichiganWon 60–14 vs. Western Michigan+46Western MichiganWon 28–7 at Ohio State+21Ohio StateLost 13–28 vs. Northwestern-15Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 27vsPittsburghW 14–⁠077%
Oct 4atIowaW 35–⁠1264%
Oct 11vs5ArmyT 0–⁠044%
Oct 18vs13MinnesotaW 40–⁠1369%
Oct 25atPurdueL 7–⁠1469%
Nov 1vs2MichiganL 7–⁠1447%
Nov 8vsWestern MichiganW 60–⁠1497%
Nov 15atOhio StateW 28–⁠763%
Nov 22vsNorthwesternL 13–⁠2883%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 28–⁠13; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Western Conference.

In program history: The 38th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 11
  6. Wk 6: 11
  7. Wk 7: 12

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 1947.

Record
5–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
3–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Western Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 5
Points
204–⁠102
Coach
Ray Eliot
Elo
1583 −24 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
17.5 No. 11 of 120 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Art Duffelmeier
Most valuable player
Ike Owens

Drafted in 1948

The 1948 draft
Rd 3Les Bingaman OTDetroit Lions
Rd 5Les Bingaman OTBrooklyn Dodgers (AAFC)

All-Big Nine

3 first team, 3 second team

First team

  • Ike OwensEAP-1; INS-1; UP-1
  • Lou AgaseOTAP-1; INS-1
  • Russ StegerFB

Second team

  • John WrennOGAP-2; INS-2
  • Lou LevantiCAP-2; INS-2
  • Perry MossQBAP-2; INS-2

From Wikipedia’s 1947 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1947 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan6–⁠010–⁠02
Wisconsin3–⁠2–⁠15–⁠3–⁠1
Minnesota3–⁠36–⁠3
Illinois3–⁠35–⁠3–⁠1
Purdue3–⁠35–⁠4
Indiana2–⁠3–⁠15–⁠3–⁠1
Iowa2–⁠3–⁠13–⁠5–⁠1
Northwestern2–⁠43–⁠6
Ohio State1–⁠4–⁠12–⁠6–⁠1

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