1992 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1992 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Holiday Bowl, L 17–27 Hawaii
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	6–5–1 (4–3–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Lou Tepper (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Tom Beck (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Denny Marcin (1st season)
MVP	Jason Verduzco
Captains	Brad Hopkins John Wright Jr.
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1991 1993  →

1992 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Michigan $	6	–	0	–	2			9	–	0	–	3
No. 18 Ohio State	5	–	2	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
Michigan State	5	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Illinois	4	–	3	–	1			6	–	5	–	1
Iowa	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
Indiana	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Minnesota	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1992 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 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Lou Tepper, the Illini compiled a 6–5–1 record (4–3–1 in confernce games), finished in fourth place in the Big Ten Conference, and outscored opponents by a total of 211 to 208. They concluded the season with a loss to Hawaii in the 1992 Holiday Bowl. ^[1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Jason Verduzco (1,531 passing yards, 63.7% completion percentage), running back Darren Boyer (554 rushing yards), wide receiver John Wright (40 receptions for 426 yards), and kicker Chris Richardson (58 points, 20 of 23 extra points, 11 of 16 field goals). ^[2]

Several Illinois players received all-conference honors. Defensive lineman Simeon Rice was selected by the Associated Press (AP) as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Offensive tackle Brad Hopkins was selected by the AP as a first-team all-conference player, and linebacker Dana Howard and quarterback Verduzco were selected as a second-team player. ^[3]

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

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 5	Northern Illinois *	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 30–14	50,015
September 12	Missouri *	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 24–17	53,568
September 19	at Houston *	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	L 13–31	25,931
October 3	at Minnesota	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	L 17–18	32,112
October 10	at No. 21 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck)	W 18–16	93,982
October 17	Iowa	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 14–24	70,314
October 24	Northwestern	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	L 26–27	52,332
October 31	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 13–12	65,293
November 7	Purdue	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 20–17	55,339
November 14	at No. 3 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	T 22–22	106,481
November 21	Michigan State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 14–10	40,552
December 30	vs. Hawaii *	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	L 17–27	44,457
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1992 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 87 Ken Dilger So C 56 Greg Engel Jr OT 79 Brad Hopkins Sr QB 13 Johnny Johnson Fr QB 17 Jeff Schwarzentraub Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 51 Kevin Hardy Fr LB 52 John Holecek So DE 97 Simeon Rice Fr CB 29 Scott Turner So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 13 Eric Barofsky So	Head coach Lou Tepper Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "1992 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. "1992 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
3. "Michigan puts eight on All-Big Ten teams". The Argus-Press (AP story). November 25, 1992. p. A11.