1977 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

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1977 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record3–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPJames Coleman, John Sullivan
CaptainRickie Mitchem, Kurt Steger
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1976
1978 →
1977 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Michigan + 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 11 Ohio State + 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Michigan State 6 – 1 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
Indiana 4 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Minnesota 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Purdue 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Iowa 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin 3 – 6 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Illinois 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Northwestern 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1977 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Gary Moeller, the Illini compiled a 3–8 record and finished in ninth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1]

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mike McCray with 418 passing yards, running back James Coleman with 715 rushing yards, and wide receiver Tom Schooley with 231 receiving yards.[2] Coleman and linebacker John Sullivan were selected as the team's most valuable players.[3]

Schedule[edit]

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 10No. 2 Michigan
L 9–3760,477[4][5]
September 17Missouri*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 11–752,771
September 24at Stanford*
L 24–3750,500
October 1Syracuse*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 20–3052,015
October 8at No. 19 Wisconsin
L 0–2678,661
October 15at Purdue
W 29–2260,242
October 22Indiana
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 21–750,298
October 29at Michigan State
L 20–4970,589
November 5No. 4 Ohio State
L 0–3566,973
November 12Minnesota
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 0–2137,697
November 19at Northwestern
L 7–2117,255
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster[edit]

1977 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
TE 81 Mike Sherrod Jr
QB 10 Nick Sowa Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 97 John Sullivan Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

References[edit]

  1. ^ "1977 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "1977 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  4. ^ Curt Sylvester (September 11, 1977). "What Big Test? It's U-M, 37-9". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 4E.
  5. ^ John Niemeyer (September 11, 1977). "Michigan mauls Illinois, 37-9". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 10 – via Bentley Historical Library.


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