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1998 Illinois

3–⁠8 (2–⁠6 Big Ten), coached by Ron Turner.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 1998, game by game: lost at Washington State 13–20; won vs. Middle Tennessee 48–20; lost vs. Louisville 9–35; lost vs. Iowa 14–37; won at Northwestern 13–10; lost vs. No. 1 Ohio State 0–41; lost vs. No. 9 Wisconsin 3–37; lost at Purdue 9–42; lost at No. 10 Penn State 0–27; won vs. Indiana 31–16; lost at Michigan State 9–41+28−41Lost 13–20 at Washington State-7Washington StateWon 48–20 vs. Middle Tennessee+28Middle TennesseeLost 9–35 vs. Louisville-26LouisvilleLost 14–37 vs. Iowa-23IowaWon 13–10 at Northwestern+3NorthwesternLost 0–41 vs. No. 1 Ohio State-41No. 1 Ohio StateLost 3–37 vs. No. 9 Wisconsin-34No. 9 WisconsinLost 9–42 at Purdue-33PurdueLost 0–27 at No. 10 Penn State-27No. 10 Penn StateWon 31–16 vs. Indiana+15IndianaLost 9–41 at Michigan State-32Michigan State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atWashington StateL 13–⁠2016%
Sep 12vsMiddle TennesseeW 48–⁠2066%
Sep 19vsLouisvilleL 9–⁠3563%
Sep 26vsIowaL 14–⁠3732%
Oct 3atNorthwesternW 13–⁠1020%
Oct 10vs1Ohio StateL 0–⁠4112%
Oct 17vs9WisconsinL 3–⁠3718%
Oct 24atPurdueL 9–⁠4215%
Oct 31at10Penn StateL 0–⁠278%
Nov 7vsIndianaW 31–⁠1637%
Nov 21atMichigan StateL 9–⁠4114%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan State 41–⁠9; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 128th-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 1998.

Record
3–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 7th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
149–⁠326
Coach
Ron Turner
Elo
1327 −27 this season
SP+ rating
-13.5 No. 92 of 112; offense No. 108, defense No. 54
SRS
−12.6 No. 92 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Buddy Teevens
Defensive coordinator
Tim Kish
Captains
Ivan Benson, Danny Clark and Ryan Schau
Most valuable player
Danny Clark
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1999

The 1999 draft
Rd 6J.P. Machado OGNew York Jets

1998 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin7–⁠111–⁠16
Ohio State7–⁠111–⁠12
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠312
Purdue6–⁠29–⁠424
Penn State5–⁠39–⁠317
Michigan State4–⁠46–⁠6
Minnesota2–⁠65–⁠6
Indiana2–⁠64–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠63–⁠8
Iowa2–⁠63–⁠8
Northwestern0–⁠83–⁠9

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