1984 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

Last updated

1984 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference Big Ten Conference
Record7–4 (6–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVP David Williams
Captains
Home stadium Memorial Stadium
Seasons
←  1983
1985  →
1984 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 13 Ohio State $ 7 –2 –09 –3 –0
Illinois 6 –3 –07 –4 –0
Purdue 6 –3 –07 –5 –0
No. 16 Iowa 5 –3 –18 –4 –1
Wisconsin 5 –3 –17 –4 –1
Michigan State 5 –4 –06 –6 –0
Michigan 5 –4 –06 –6 –0
Minnesota 3 –6 –04 –7 –0
Northwestern 2 –7 –02 –9 –0
Indiana 0 –9 –00 –11 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1984 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1984 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fifth year under head coach Mike White, the Illini compiled a 7–3 record (6–3 in conference games), tied for second place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 323 to 209. [1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Jack Trudeau (2,724 passing yards, 65.3% completion percentage), running back Thomas Rooks (1,056 rushing yards, 4.8 yards per carry), wide receiver David Williams (101 receptions for 1,278 yards), and kicker Chris White (103 points scored, 31 of 32 extra points, 24 of 28 field goals). [2] Six Illinois players received first-team honors on the 1984 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Rooks at running back (UPI-1); Chris Babyar at guard (AP-1, UPI-1); Jim Juriga at tackle; tight end Cap Boso (AP-1); Williams at wide receiver (AP-1, UPI-1); White at kicker (AP-1, UPI-1). [3] [4]

The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 1 Northwestern
W 24–1675,753 [5]
September 8 Missouri *
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 30–2478,297 [6]
September 15at Stanford *
L 19–3443,795 [7]
September 22 Michigan State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 40–775,762 [8]
September 29at Iowa
L 16–2166,322 [9]
October 6 Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 22–676,428 [10]
October 13at No. 8 Ohio State
L 38–4589,937 [11]
October 20 Purdue
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 34–2076,101 [12]
October 27at Michigan
L 18–26104,916 [13]
November 3 Minnesota
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 48–376,056 [14]
November 10vs. Indiana
W 34–746,264 [15]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

  1. ↑ "1984 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  2. ↑ "1984 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Byars Unanimous All-Big Ten Choice". The Blade (Toledo). November 28, 1984. p. 36.
  4. ↑ "1984 All-Big Ten Football team". UPI.com. November 19, 1984.
  5. ↑ "Illini slow in defeat of Wildcats". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 2, 1984. Retrieved April 12, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Rooks scores twice as Illinois nips Tigers". The Lima News. September 9, 1984. Retrieved April 12, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Stanford hits Paye-dirt in beating Illini, 34–19". The Pantagraph. September 16, 1984. Retrieved April 12, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Illinois buries Spartans, 40–7". The Saginaw News. September 23, 1984. Retrieved April 12, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Hawkeyes scalp Illini; Harmon has best day". The Daily Nonpareil. September 30, 1984. Retrieved April 12, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Illinois defense rises up to slam down Wisconsin". Chicago Tribune. October 7, 1984. Retrieved April 12, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Byars paces comeback as Buckeyes top Illini". The Newark Advocate. October 14, 1984. Retrieved April 12, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Illini bomb Boilers with bombs". The Dispatch. October 21, 1984. Retrieved April 12, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "U-M is back in title chase". Lansing State Journal. October 28, 1984. Retrieved April 12, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Illinois overpowers Minnesota as Rooks reaches 1,000 mark". Evansville Courier and Press. November 4, 1984. Retrieved April 12, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Even the wave is a washout as Illinois swamps IU". The Courier-Journal. November 11, 1984. Retrieved April 12, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
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