1991 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1991 Illinois Fighting Illini football
John Hancock Bowl, L 3–6 vs. UCLA
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	6–6 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Mackovic (4th season; regular season) Lou Tepper (interim, bowl game)
Offensive coordinator	Gene Dahlquist (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Lou Tepper (4th season)
MVP	Kameno Bell
Captains	Mike Hopkins Marlon Primous Tim Simpson
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1990 1992  →

1991 Big Ten Conference football standings

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

The 1991 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 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth and final year under head coach John Mackovic, the Fighting Illini compiled a 6–6 record (4–4 in conference games), finished in fifth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 261 to 182. ^[1]

Quarterback Jason Verduzco led the Big Ten with 235 pass completions, 382 pass attempts, and 2,825 passing yards. The team's other statistical leaders included running back Kameno Bell (642 rushing yards, 60 receptions), wide receiver Elbert Turner (646 receiving yards), and kicker Chris Richardson (68 points scored, 29 of 31 extra points, 12 of 17 field goals). ^[2]

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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	3:00 pm	East Carolina *		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPN	W 38–31	46,313
September 14	1:00 pm	at Missouri *		Faurot Field Columbia, MO		L 19–23	49,586
September 21	2:30 pm	No. 21 Houston *		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ABC	W 51–10	60,182
October 5	11:30 am	Minnesota		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPN	W 24–3	57,981
October 12	2:30 pm	No. 11 Ohio State	No. 20	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ABC	W 10–7	70,125
October 19	2:30 pm	at No. 15 Iowa	No. 13	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ABC	L 21–24	70,220
October 26	1:00 pm	at Northwestern	No. 17	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)		L 11–17	26,542
November 2	1:00 pm	Wisconsin		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		W 22–6	61,493
November 9	12:00 pm	at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		W 41–14	33,152
November 16	2:30 pm	No. 4 Michigan	No. 25	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	ABC	L 0–20	66,757
November 23	12:05 pm	at Michigan State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		L 24–27	61,721
December 31	1:30 pm	vs. UCLA *		Sun Bowl El Paso, TX (John Hancock Bowl)	CBS	L 3–6	42,281
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

1991 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 87 Ken Dilger Fr OT 79 Brad Hopkins Jr C 69 Tim Simpson Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John Mackovic Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

After the season

NFL draft

The following Fighting Illini were selected in the 1992 NFL draft after the season.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL team
7	189	Elbert Tuener	Wide receiver	Houston Oilers
12	328	Kameno Bell	Running back	Miami Dolphins
12	329	Tim Simpson	Center	Cleveland Browns

^[3]

References

1. "1991 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
2. "1991 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
3. "1992 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2023.