CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1991 Illinois

6–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by John Mackovic, then Lou Tepper (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Illinois in 1991, game by game: won vs. East Carolina 38–31; lost at Missouri 19–23; won vs. No. 21 Houston 51–10; won vs. Minnesota 24–3; won vs. No. 11 Ohio State 10–7; lost at No. 15 Iowa 21–24; lost at Northwestern 11–17; won vs. Wisconsin 22–6; won at Purdue 41–14; lost vs. No. 4 Michigan 0–20; lost at Michigan State 24–27; lost vs. No. 22 UCLA 3–6+41−20Won 38–31 vs. East Carolina+7East CarolinaLost 19–23 at Missouri-4MissouriWon 51–10 vs. No. 21 Houston+41No. 21 HoustonWon 24–3 vs. Minnesota+21MinnesotaWon 10–7 vs. No. 11 Ohio State+3No. 11 Ohio StateLost 21–24 at No. 15 Iowa-3No. 15 IowaLost 11–17 at Northwestern-6NorthwesternWon 22–6 vs. Wisconsin+16WisconsinWon 41–14 at Purdue+27PurdueLost 0–20 vs. No. 4 Michigan-20No. 4 MichiganLost 24–27 at Michigan State-3Michigan StateLost 3–6 vs. No. 22 UCLA-3No. 22 UCLA
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsEast CarolinaW 38–⁠3167%
Sep 14atMissouriL 19–⁠2361%
Sep 21vs21HoustonW 51–⁠1045%
Oct 5vsMinnesotaW 24–⁠370%
Oct 12vs11Ohio StateW 10–⁠758%
Oct 19at15IowaL 21–⁠2445%
Oct 26atNorthwesternL 11–⁠1780%
Nov 2vsWisconsinW 22–⁠684%
Nov 9atPurdueW 41–⁠1468%
Nov 16vs4MichiganL 0–⁠2037%
Nov 23atMichigan StateL 24–⁠2762%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs22UCLAJohn Hancock BowlL 3–⁠643%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to UCLA 6–⁠3 in the John Hancock Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 49th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 25
  2. Wk 6: 22
  3. Wk 7: 20
  4. Wk 8: 13
  5. Wk 9: 17
  6. Wk 12: 25

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 1991.

Record
6–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 13
Points
264–⁠188
Coach
John Mackovic, then Lou Tepper (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1557 −7 this season
SP+ rating
9.4 No. 31 of 104; offense No. 54, defense No. 17
SRS
8.5 No. 26 of 107 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Gene Dahlquist
Defensive coordinator
Lou Tepper
Captains
Mike Hopkins, Marlon Primous and Tim Simpson
Most valuable player
Kameno Bell

Drafted in 1992

The 1992 draft
Rd 7Elbert Turner WRHouston Oilers

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 3 second team

First team

  • Tim SimpsonOGAP-1
  • Mike PoloskeyDLAP-1

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1991 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1991 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠010–⁠26
Iowa7–⁠110–⁠1–⁠110
Ohio State5–⁠38–⁠4
Indiana5–⁠37–⁠4–⁠1
Illinois4–⁠46–⁠6
Purdue3–⁠54–⁠7
Michigan State3–⁠53–⁠8
Wisconsin2–⁠65–⁠6
Northwestern2–⁠63–⁠8
Minnesota1–⁠72–⁠9

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