CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Illinois

0–⁠11 (0–⁠8 Big Ten), coached by Ron Turner.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 1997, game by game: lost vs. Southern Miss 7–24; lost at Louisville 14–26; lost vs. No. 19 Washington State 22–35; lost at No. 11 Iowa 10–38; lost vs. No. 2 Penn State 6–41; lost at Wisconsin 7–31; lost vs. No. 22 Purdue 3–48; lost at Indiana 6–23; lost vs. Northwestern 21–34; lost at No. 4 Ohio State 6–41; lost vs. Michigan State 17–27+7−45Lost 7–24 vs. Southern Miss-17Southern MissLost 14–26 at Louisville-12LouisvilleLost 22–35 vs. No. 19 Washington State-13No. 19 Washington StateLost 10–38 at No. 11 Iowa-28No. 11 IowaLost 6–41 vs. No. 2 Penn State-35No. 2 Penn StateLost 7–31 at Wisconsin-24WisconsinLost 3–48 vs. No. 22 Purdue-45No. 22 PurdueLost 6–23 at Indiana-17IndianaLost 21–34 vs. Northwestern-13NorthwesternLost 6–41 at No. 4 Ohio State-35No. 4 Ohio StateLost 17–27 vs. Michigan State-10Michigan State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsSouthern MissL 7–⁠2439%
Sep 13atLouisvilleL 14–⁠2638%
Sep 20vs19Washington StateL 22–⁠3540%
Sep 27at11IowaL 10–⁠3814%
Oct 4vs2Penn StateL 6–⁠4115%
Oct 11atWisconsinL 7–⁠3115%
Oct 25vs22PurdueL 3–⁠4826%
Nov 1atIndianaL 6–⁠2335%
Nov 8vsNorthwesternL 21–⁠3430%
Nov 15at4Ohio StateL 6–⁠414%
Nov 22vsMichigan StateL 17–⁠2722%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan State 27–⁠17; unranked in the final AP poll; 11th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 134th-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 1997.

Record
0–⁠11
Conference
0–⁠8 11th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
119–⁠368
Coach
Ron Turner
Elo
1280 −151 this season
SP+ rating
-18.1 No. 104 of 112; offense No. 105, defense No. 83
SRS
−15.3 No. 96 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Buddy Teevens
Defensive coordinator
Tim Kish
Captains
Ivan Benson, Danny Clark and Robert Holcombe
Most valuable player
Robert Holcombe
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 2Robert Holcombe RBSt. Louis Rams

1997 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠012–⁠01
Ohio State6–⁠210–⁠312
Penn State6–⁠29–⁠316
Purdue6–⁠29–⁠315
Wisconsin5–⁠38–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠47–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠5
Northwestern3–⁠55–⁠7
Minnesota1–⁠73–⁠9
Indiana1–⁠72–⁠9
Illinois0–⁠80–⁠11

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