1964 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1964 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois in the 1964 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Pete Elliott, the Fighting Illini compiled an overall record of 6–3 with a mark of 4–3 in conference play, tying for fourth place in the Big Ten.

1964 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
Record6–3 (4–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPDick Butkus
CaptainDick Butkus, George Donnelly
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1963
1965 →
1964 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Michigan $ 6 1 0 9 1 0
No. 9 Ohio State 5 1 0 7 2 0
Purdue 5 2 0 6 3 0
Illinois 4 3 0 6 3 0
Minnesota 4 3 0 5 4 0
Michigan State 3 3 0 4 5 0
Northwestern 2 5 0 3 6 0
Wisconsin 2 5 0 3 6 0
Iowa 1 5 0 3 6 0
Indiana 1 5 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Dick Butkus played center and linebacker for Illinois from 1962 through 1964. During the 1964 season, Butkus was a unanimous pick for the 1964 College Football All-America Team,[1] was named the American Football Coaches Association Player of the Year, finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting (a remarkable achievement for a lineman), and was selected as the team's most valuable player.[2]

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 26at California*No. 3W 20–1444,704
October 3at NorthwesternNo. 3W 17–652,062
October 10No. 4 Ohio StateNo. 2L 0–2671,227[3]
October 17at MinnesotaW 14–060,475[4]
October 24UCLA*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 26–768,727
October 31at PurdueL 14–2659,425[5]
November 7at MichiganL 6–2162,415
November 14Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 29–055,077
November 21Michigan State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 16–032,000
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Team players in the NFL

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Player Round Pick Position Club
Dick Butkus 1 3 Linebacker Chicago Bears
George Donnelly 1 13 Back San Francisco 49ers
Archie Sutton 2 15 Tackle Minnesota Vikings
Gregg Schumacher 13 170 End San Francisco 49ers
Dave Powless 17 225 Guard New York Giants

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  2. ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  3. ^ Dick Forbes (October 11, 1964). "OSU Pulverizes Illini, 26-0". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Bristling Illini Bury Minnesota". Minneapolis Tribune. October 18, 1964. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Purdue Upsets Illini, 26-14; Rose Bowl Stock Goes Up". The Indianapolis Star. November 1, 1964. p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 394