CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2001 Illinois

10–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Ron Turner, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 2001, game by game: won at California 44–17; won vs. Northern Illinois 17–12; won vs. Louisville 34–10; lost at No. 17 Michigan 20–45; won vs. Minnesota 25–14; won at Indiana 35–14; won vs. Wisconsin 42–35; won at No. 20 Purdue 38–13; won vs. Penn State 33–28; won at No. 25 Ohio State 34–22; won vs. Northwestern 34–28; lost vs. No. 12 LSU 34–47+27−25Won 44–17 at California+27CaliforniaWon 17–12 vs. Northern Illinois+5Northern Illino…Won 34–10 vs. Louisville+24LouisvilleLost 20–45 at No. 17 Michigan-25No. 17 MichiganWon 25–14 vs. Minnesota+11MinnesotaWon 35–14 at Indiana+21IndianaWon 42–35 vs. Wisconsin+7WisconsinWon 38–13 at No. 20 Purdue+25No. 20 PurdueWon 33–28 vs. Penn State+5Penn StateWon 34–22 at No. 25 Ohio State+12No. 25 Ohio StateWon 34–28 vs. Northwestern+6NorthwesternLost 34–47 vs. No. 12 LSU-13No. 12 LSU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atCaliforniaW 44–⁠1749%
Sep 8vsNorthern IllinoisW 17–⁠1266%
Sep 22vsLouisvilleW 34–⁠1047%
Sep 29at17MichiganL 20–⁠4530%
Oct 6vsMinnesotaW 25–⁠1467%
Oct 13atIndianaW 35–⁠1459%
Oct 20vsWisconsinW 42–⁠3562%
Nov 3at20PurdueW 38–⁠1340%
Nov 10vsPenn StateW 33–⁠2875%
Nov 17at25Ohio StateW 34–⁠2248%
Nov 22vsNorthwesternW 34–⁠2886%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs12LSUSugar BowlL 34–⁠4753%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to LSU 47–⁠34 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 22
  2. Wk 10: 22
  3. Wk 11: 21
  4. Wk 12: 15
  5. Wk 13: 12
  6. Wk 14: 10
  7. Wk 15: 8
  8. Wk 16: 7
  9. Final: 12

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 2001.

Big Ten champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 7
Points
390–⁠285
Coach
Ron Turner
Elo
1670 +170 this season
SP+ rating
14.9 No. 20 of 117; offense No. 21, defense No. 44
SRS
12.2 No. 22 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 40
Defensive coordinator
Mike Cassity
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 33— allowed
Defense0.0own 28— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2001 class

Morris Virgil RB★★★★No. 99

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2001 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs14.00.968

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2002

The 2002 draft
Rd 5Kurt Kittner QBAtlanta Falcons

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 7 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2001 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2001 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Illinois7–⁠110–⁠212
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠420
Ohio State5–⁠37–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠5
Purdue4–⁠46–⁠6
Penn State4–⁠45–⁠6
Indiana4–⁠45–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠57–⁠5
Wisconsin3–⁠55–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠64–⁠7
Minnesota2–⁠64–⁠7

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