1985 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1985 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Peach Bowl, L 29–31 vs. Army
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	6–5–1 (5–2–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Mike White (6th season)
MVP	David Williams
Captains	Jack Trudeau Craig Swoope Chris White
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1984 1986  →

1985 Big Ten Conference football standings

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

The 1985 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 1985 Big Ten Conference football season. In their sixth year under head coach Mike White, the Fighting Illini compiled a 6–5–1 record (5–2–1 in conference games), finished in third place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 303 to 275. They concluded the season with a loss to Army in the 1985 Peach Bowl. ^[1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Jack Trudeau (2,938 passing yards, 63.7% completion percentage), running back Thomas Rooks (718 rushing yards, 5.4 yards per carry), wide receiver David Williams (85 receptions for 1,047 yards), and kicker Chris White (73 points scored, 31 of 31 extra points, 14 of 20 field goals). ^[2] Four Illinois players received first-team honors on the 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Williams at wide receiver (AP-1, UPI-1); Jim Juriga at guard (AP-1, UPI-1; Guy Teafatiller at defensive line (UPI-1); and White at kicker (UPI-1). ^{[3] [4]}

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

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	No. 6 USC *	No. 11	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 10–20	76,369	[5]
September 14	Southern Illinois *	No. 19	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 28–25	76,330	[6]
September 21	at No. 18 Nebraska *	No. 20	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	L 25–52	76,149	[7]
October 5	No. 5 Ohio State		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck)	W 31–28	76,343	[8]
October 12	at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 24–30	68,837	[9]
October 19	at Michigan State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 30–17	76,438	[10]
October 26	Wisconsin		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 38–25	76,395	[11]
November 2	No. 4 Michigan		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	T 3–3	76,397	[12]
November 9	at No. 6 Iowa		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 0–59	66,120	[13]
November 16	Indiana		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 41–24	78,805	[14]
November 23	at Northwestern		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	W 45–20	33,054	[15]
December 31	vs. Army *		Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl)	L 29–31	29,857	[16]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

No. 6 USC

USC at Illinois

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•No. 6 Trojans	14	3	3	0	20
No. 11 Fighting Illini	0	0	7	3	10

• Date: September 7
• Location: Memorial Stadium
• Game attendance: 76,639
• Game weather: 90 °F (32 °C)

  

Scoring summary

1		USC	Hank Norman 9-yard pass from Sean Salisbury (Don Shafer kick)	USC 7–0
		USC	Randy Tanner 46-yard pass from Sean Salisbury (Don Shafer kick)	USC 14–0
2		USC	Don Shafer 46-yard field goal	USC 17–0
3		USC	Don Shafer 23-yard field goal	USC 20–0
		Illinois	Cap Boso 83-yard pass from Jack Trudeau (Chris White kick)	USC 20–7
4		Illinois	Chris White 28-yard field goal	USC 20–10

See also: 1985 USC Trojans football team

In a game that some considered a possible Rose Bowl preview, the Illini were doomed by 6 turnovers and found themselves in a 14–0 very early in the game. Illinois pulled to within 20–10 on a Chris White field goal early in the fourth quarter, but USC used ball control to grind out the clock – including 22 minutes of possession in the second half – and gain a big road win in the season opener for both teams. ^{[17] [18]}

At No. 18 Nebraska

Illinois at Nebraska

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Fighting Illini	0	10	0	15	25
•No. 18 Cornhuskers	14	10	21	7	52

• Date: September 21
• Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
• Game attendance: 76,149

See also: 1985 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

^[19]

No. 5 Ohio State

Ohio State at Illinois

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Buckeyes	0	14	14	0	28
•Fighting Illini	14	0	7	10	31

• Date: October 5
• Location: Memorial Stadium

See also: 1985 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

^{[20] [21]}

At Michigan State

See also: 1985 Michigan State Spartans football team

Wisconsin

See also: 1985 Wisconsin Badgers football team

No. 4 Michigan

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Wolverines	0	0	3	0	3
Fighting Illini	0	0	3	0	3

• Date: November 2
• Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL
• Game attendance: 76,397

See also: 1985 Michigan Wolverines football team

On November 2, 1985, Illinois played Michigan to a 3–3 tie at Memorial Stadium. Each team kicked a field goal in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Michigan drove the length of the field, but fullback Gerald White fumbled at the Illinois 12-yard line, with the Illini recovering at the nine-yard line. Illinois then drove the length of the field and, with time running out, Chris White lined up for what would have been a game-winning 37-yard field goal. Dieter Heren tipped the ball, which hit the cross-bar and bounced back, and the game ended in a tie. After the game, head coach White said, "I don't remember feeling worse after a game. . . . I'm devastated." ^[22]

At No. 6 Iowa

Illinois at Iowa

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	0	0	0	0	0
•No. 6 Hawkeyes	35	14	0	10	59

• Date: November 9
• Location:
  Kinnick Stadium,
  Iowa City, Iowa
• Game start: 1:05 p.m. CST
• Elapsed time: 3:20
• Game attendance: 66,120
• Game weather: ~45 °F (7 °C), Cloudy, rain, Wind NE 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h)
• Referee: Otho Kortz

Scoring summary

1	11:54	IOWA	R. Smith 49-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 7-0
1	10:16	IOWA	Hudson 1-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 14-0
1	7:28	IOWA	R. Smith 43-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 21-0
1	4:36	IOWA	Ronnie Harmon 46-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 28-0
1	0:59	IOWA	Hudson 10-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 35-0
2	5:16	IOWA	Flagg 1-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 42-0
2	2:31	IOWA	Helverson 9-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 49-0
4	13:12	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 37-yard field goal	IOWA 52-0
4	8:21	IOWA	Goodman 16-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 59-0

See also: 1985 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

^[23]

Vs. Army (Peach Bowl)

Illinois vs. Army

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	3	13	7	6	29
•Cadets	7	14	7	3	31

• Date: December 31
• Location:
  Fulton County Stadium,
  Atlanta, Georgia
• Game attendance: 29,857
• TV announcers (CBS): Gary Bender and Steve Davis

Main article: 1985 Peach Bowl

See also: 1985 Army Cadets football team

^[24]

References

1. "1985 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
2. "1985 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
3. "Soph White, Station, Unanimous Choices". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1985. p. 33.
4. "Long nips Everett for UPI first team". The Indianapolis Star. November 26, 1985. p. 22.
5. "No. 6 Southern Cal stops Illinois". The Charlotte Observer. September 8, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "SIUC scares Illini before falling 28–25". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 15, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Illinois gets humiliated". Chicago Tribune. September 22, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Late Illini FG tips Ohio St". The Miami Herald. October 6, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Purdue defense saves 30–24 win". Anderson Herald. October 13, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Mistakes haunt Spartans". Lansing State Journal. October 20, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Illini runner surprises UW". Wausau Daily Herald. October 27, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Kick takes wrong bounce; Illini have to settle for tie". The Rock Island Argus. November 3, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Long, Hawkeyes make short work of Illini 59–0". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 10, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Illinois 'Rooks and rolls' by I.U." The Indianapolis Star. November 17, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
15. "Ilini top Wildcats to reach Peach". The Dispatch. November 24, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
16. "Army discharges Illini 31–29 in soggy Peach". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. January 1, 1986. Retrieved April 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
17. "Upsets: UCLA Takes Bosco, and USC Hoists Champaign". Los Angeles Times . September 8, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
18. Reilly, Rick (September 16, 1985). "...And Then They Had To Play". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved July 17, 2022.
19. "Nebraska Runs Over Illinois, 52-25". Los Angeles Times . September 22, 1985. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
20. "Illinois Leaves Behind Past Failures, Upsets No. 5 Ohio State". The Los Angeles Times . October 6, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
21. "A CALL THAT MADE FATHER'S DAY". The Chicago Tribune . October 8, 1985. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
22. "U-M, Illinois fit to be tied". Detroit Free Press . November 3, 1985. p. D1.
23. "Iowa Hits Illini Early, Often". Chicago Tribune. November 10, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
24. "ARMY'S AIR ATTACK STUNS ILLINI". The New York Times . January 1, 1986. Retrieved January 19, 2020.