1983 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1983 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl, L 9–45 vs. UCLA
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 10
Record	10–2 (9–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Mike White (4th season)
Captain	Tim Brewster, Joe Miles, Don Thorp
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1982 1984  →

1983 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Illinois $	9	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Michigan	8	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 14 Iowa	7	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 9 Ohio State	6	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin	5	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Michigan State	2	–	6	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Indiana	2	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Minnesota	0	–	9	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Mike White, the Fighting Illini compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 9–0, winning the Big Ten title. Illinois was invited to the Rose Bowl, where the Illini lost to UCLA. The team played home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Jack Trudeau with 2,446 passing yards, running back Thomas Rooks with 842 rushing yards, and wide receiver David Williams with 870 receiving yards. ^[1] Defensive end Don Thorp was selected as the team's most valuable player and also received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference. ^[2] The 1983 Illini were the first team in Big Ten history to go 9–0 in regular season conference play, and the only team to do so until the 2017 Wisconsin Badgers football team repeated the feat. Since then, the 2019 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, the 2024 Oregon Ducks football team and both the 2022 Michigan Wolverines football team & 2023 Michigan Wolverines football team have accomplished the feat.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	1:30 pm	at Missouri *		Faurot Field Columbia, MO (rivalry)		L 18–28	53,744	[3]
September 17	6:00 pm	Stanford *		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		W 17–7	72,852	[4]
September 24	11:30 am	at Michigan State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ABC	W 20–10	75,867	[5]
October 1	1:00 pm	No. 4 Iowa		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		W 33–0	73,351	[6]
October 8	1:30 pm	at Wisconsin	No. 19	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 27–15	78,307	[7]
October 15	1:00 pm	No. 6 Ohio State	No. 19	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)		W 17–13	73,414	[8]
October 22	1:30 pm	at Purdue	No. 11	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		W 35–21	69,328	[9]
October 29	11:30 am	No. 8 Michigan	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	CBS	W 16–6	76,127	[10]
November 5	7:00 pm	at Minnesota	No. 6	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN		W 50–23	35,514	[11]
November 12	1:00 pm	Indiana	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)		W 49–21	73,612	[12]
November 19	1:00 pm	at Northwestern	No. 4	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)		W 56–24	52,333	[13]
January 2	4:00 pm	vs. UCLA *	No. 4	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	L 9–45	103,217	[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[15]

Awards and honors

• Don Thorp (Defensive end)
  • Chicago Tribune Silver Football
  • All-American, (defensive end)
• Jim Juriga, (Tackle)
  • All-American, (tackle)
• Craig Swoope, (Defensive back)
  • All-American, (defensive back)

References

1. "1983 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
3. "Bad start wrecks Illinois". The Rock Island Argus. September 11, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Illinois discovers running game in victory". The Pantagraph. September 18, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Spartans lose 1st; Illinois ends MSU streak". The Times Herald. September 25, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Illini pay back Hawks with shutout". The Dispatch. October 2, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Mistakes critical for Wisconsin". The La Crosse Tribune. October 9, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Late Illinois march sinks Buckeyes, 17–13". The Des Moines Register. October 16, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Illini top Purdue, eye Michigan". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 23, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. Joe Lapointe (October 30, 1983). "Illinois on the road to Roses after dominating U-M, 16-6". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1F, 7F – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Illini explode after scare". Chicago Tribune. November 6, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Illinois officially wraps up Rose Bowl bid". The Belleville News-Democrat. November 13, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Illinois brushes aside NU". Chicago Tribune. November 20, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Neuheisel leads UCLA past stunned Illini 45–9". USA Today. January 3, 1984. Retrieved February 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
15. DeLassus, David. "Illinois Yearly Results: 1980–1984". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2013.