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1959 Illinois

5–⁠3–⁠1 (4–⁠2–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Ray Eliot, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 1959, game by game: lost at Indiana 0–20; won vs. No. 4 Army 20–14; won at Ohio State 9–0; won vs. Minnesota 14–6; lost vs. No. 8 Penn State 9–20; tied vs. No. 11 Purdue 7–7; lost vs. Michigan 15–20; won at No. 7 Wisconsin 9–6; won vs. No. 8 Northwestern 28–0+28−20Lost 0–20 at Indiana-20IndianaWon 20–14 vs. No. 4 Army+6No. 4 ArmyWon 9–0 at Ohio State+9Ohio StateWon 14–6 vs. Minnesota+8MinnesotaLost 9–20 vs. No. 8 Penn State-11No. 8 Penn StateTied 7–7 vs. No. 11 Purdue0No. 11 PurdueLost 15–20 vs. Michigan-5MichiganWon 9–6 at No. 7 Wisconsin+3No. 7 WisconsinWon 28–0 vs. No. 8 Northwestern+28No. 8 Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 26atIndianaL 0–⁠2049%
Oct 3vs4ArmyW 20–⁠1433%
Oct 10atOhio StateW 9–⁠033%
Oct 17vsMinnesotaW 14–⁠674%
Oct 24vs8Penn StateL 9–⁠2036%
Oct 31vs11PurdueT 7–⁠744%
Nov 7vsMichiganL 15–⁠2072%
Nov 14at7WisconsinW 9–⁠624%
Nov 21vs8NorthwesternW 28–⁠050%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Northwestern 28–⁠0; No. 13 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 40th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 20
  2. Wk 5: 13
  3. Wk 6: 13
  4. Wk 11: 13
  5. Wk 12: 12
  6. Final: 13

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 1959.

Heisman voteBill Burrell, fourth

Consensus All-AmericanBill Burrell, OG

Record
5–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠2–⁠1 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 12
Points
111–⁠93
Coach
Ray Eliot
Elo
1577 +54 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
11.4 No. 21 of 112 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Bill Burrell
Most valuable player
Bill Burrell

Drafted in 1960

The 1960 draft
Rd 5Bill Burrell LBChicago Cardinals

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1959 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1959 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin5–⁠27–⁠36
Michigan State4–⁠25–⁠4
Purdue4–⁠2–⁠15–⁠2–⁠2
Illinois4–⁠2–⁠15–⁠3–⁠113
Northwestern4–⁠36–⁠3
Iowa3–⁠35–⁠4
Michigan3–⁠44–⁠5
Indiana2–⁠4–⁠14–⁠4–⁠1
Ohio State2–⁠4–⁠13–⁠5–⁠1
Minnesota1–⁠62–⁠7

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