CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1986 Illinois

4–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Mike White.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 1986, game by game: won vs. Louisville 23–0; lost at USC 16–31; lost vs. No. 6 Nebraska 14–59; lost at Ohio State 0–14; won vs. Purdue 34–27; lost vs. Michigan State 21–29; lost at Wisconsin 9–15; lost at No. 3 Michigan 13–69; won vs. No. 16 Iowa 20–16; won at Indiana 21–16; lost vs. Northwestern 18–23+23−56Won 23–0 vs. Louisville+23LouisvilleLost 16–31 at USC-15USCLost 14–59 vs. No. 6 Nebraska-45No. 6 NebraskaLost 0–14 at Ohio State-14Ohio StateWon 34–27 vs. Purdue+7PurdueLost 21–29 vs. Michigan State-8Michigan StateLost 9–15 at Wisconsin-6WisconsinLost 13–69 at No. 3 Michigan-56No. 3 MichiganWon 20–16 vs. No. 16 Iowa+4No. 16 IowaWon 21–16 at Indiana+5IndianaLost 18–23 vs. Northwestern-5Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsLouisvilleW 23–⁠083%
Sep 13atUSCL 16–⁠3146%
Sep 20vs6NebraskaL 14–⁠5939%
Oct 4atOhio StateL 0–⁠1429%
Oct 11vsPurdueW 34–⁠2767%
Oct 18vsMichigan StateL 21–⁠2953%
Oct 25atWisconsinL 9–⁠1546%
Nov 1at3MichiganL 13–⁠6913%
Nov 8vs16IowaW 20–⁠1632%
Nov 15atIndianaW 21–⁠1636%
Nov 22vsNorthwesternL 18–⁠2375%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 23–⁠18; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 88th-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 1986.

Record
4–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 6th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
189–⁠299
Coach
Mike White
Elo
1467 −78 this season
SP+ rating
-2.8 No. 59 of 101; offense No. 61, defense No. 64
SRS
−2.9 No. 60 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Scott Davis, Sam Ellsworth, Mark Dennis and Shane Lamb
Most valuable player
Keith Jones

All-Big Ten

3 second team

Second team

  • Scott KehoeOGAP-2; UPI-2
  • Steve PierceWRAP-2; UPI-2
  • Scott DavisLinemen-outside linebackersUPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1986 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1986 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠111–⁠28
Ohio State7–⁠110–⁠37
Iowa5–⁠39–⁠316
Minnesota5–⁠36–⁠6
Michigan State4–⁠46–⁠5
Indiana3–⁠56–⁠6
Illinois3–⁠54–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠64–⁠7
Purdue2–⁠63–⁠8
Wisconsin2–⁠63–⁠9

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