2014 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

2014 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Heart of Dallas Bowl vs. Louisiana Tech, L 18–35
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	West Division
Record	6–7 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Tim Beckman (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Cubit (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Tim Banks (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  2013 2015  →

2014 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 1 Ohio State x$#^		8	–	0					14	–	1
No. T–5 Michigan State		7	–	1					11	–	2
Maryland		4	–	4					7	–	6
Rutgers		3	–	5					8	–	5
Michigan		3	–	5					5	–	7
Penn State		2	–	6					7	–	6
Indiana		1	–	7					4	–	8
West Division
No. 13 Wisconsin x		7	–	1					11	–	3
Minnesota		5	–	3					8	–	5
Nebraska		5	–	3					9	–	4
Iowa		4	–	4					7	–	6
Illinois		3	–	5					6	–	7
Northwestern		3	–	5					5	–	7
Purdue		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Ohio State 59, Wisconsin 0
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2014 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. In their third and final season under head coach Tim Beckman, the Fighting Illini compiled a 6–7 record (3–5 in conference games), tied for fifth place out of six teams in the Big Ten's West Division, and were outscored by a total of 442 to 337. They concuded the season with a loss to Louisiana Tech in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. ^[1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Wes Lunt (1,763 passing yards), running back Josh Ferguson (735 rushing yards, 60 points scored), and wide receiver Mike Dudek (76 receptions for 1,038 yards). ^[2]

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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	11:00 am	No. 24 (FCS) Youngstown State *	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	W 28–17	36,234
September 6	11:00 am	Western Kentucky *	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	W 42–34	38,561
September 13	3:00 pm	at Washington *	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	FOX	L 19–44	62,325
September 20	3:00 pm	Texas State *	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPNews	W 42–35	41,019
September 27	8:00 pm	at No. 21 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	BTN	L 14–45	91,255
October 4	11:00 am	Purdue	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 27–38	45,046
October 11	11:00 am	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN2	L 28–38	80,341
October 25	11:00 am	Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPNU	W 28–24	44,437
November 1	7:00 pm	at No. 13 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	ABC	L 14–55	106,961
November 15	11:00 am	Iowa	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	L 14–30	50,373
November 22	11:00 am	Penn State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPN2	W 16–14	35,172
November 29	11:00 am	at Northwestern	Ryan Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	ESPNU	W 47–33	31,137
December 26	12:00 pm	vs. Louisiana Tech *	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Heart of Dallas Bowl)	ESPN	L 18–35	31,297
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[3]

Personnel

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Consecutive season at Illinois	Alma Mater
Tim Beckman	Head coach	2	Findlay (1988)
Bill Cubit	Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks	1	Delaware (1974)
Mike Bellamy	Wide receivers	2	Illinois (1990)
Tom Brattan	Offensive Line	0	Delaware (1972)
Alex Golesh	Tight ends/Running backs/Fullbacks/recruiting coordinator	2	Ohio State (2006)
Tim Banks	Defensive coordinator/secondary	2	Central Michigan (1995)
Greg Colby	Defensive line	1	Illinois (1974)
Al Seamonson	Outside Linebackers	1	Wisconsin (1982)
Mike Ward	Inside Linebackers	2	Georgetown College (1984)
Tim Salem	Special Teams Coordinator	2	Arizona State (1985)
Reference: [4]

Roster

2014 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 2 Tyrin Stone-Davis  So TE 3 Jon Davis Sr QB 4 Reilly O'Toole Sr RB 5 Donovonn Young Jr RB 6 Josh Ferguson  So QB 7 Chayce Crouch Fr WR 8 Geronimo Allison Jr WR 9 Martize Barr  Sr TE 11 Matt LaCosse Sr QB 12 Wes Lunt  So WR 13 Dionte Taylor So QB 15 Aaron Bailey So WR 16 Marchie Murdock  Fr QB 16 Man Berg  Fr WR 18 Mike Dudek Fr WR 19 Justin Hardee Jr RB 23 Devin Church  So RB 25 Kendrick Foster  Fr RB 26 Cameron Tucker  Jr RB 29 T. J. Moss Fr TE 30 Jim Nudera  Jr WR 31 Leslie Poole  Jr TE 47 Tim Clary  Jr OL 52 Alex Hill  Sr OL 53 Nick Allegretti Fr OL 55 Chris Boles  Jr OL 57 Austin Schmidt So OL 60 Tony Durkin  Jr OL 64 Steve Dumezich Fr OL 66 Scott McDowell  Jr OL 67 Christian DiLauro  Fr OL 68 Simon Cvijanovic  Sr OL 69 Ted Karras  Jr OL 70 Peter Cvijanovic Fr OL 71 Joe Spencer  So OL 73 Chris O'Connor  Jr OL 74 Michael Heitz  Sr OL 75 Pat Flavin  Jr OL 76 Jesse Chadwell  Fr OL 78 Harry Black So WR 80 Jeremey Whitlow  Jr WR 81 Raphael Barr So WR 82 Kameron Fry  So TE 83 Trevor Kanteman  Fr WR 84 Kenny Knight  Jr WR 86 Malik Turner Fr TE 87 Tyler White So WR 88 Zach Grant Jr TE 89 Dallas Hinkhouse  Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 2 V'Angelo Bentley Jr DB 3 Taylor Barton  So DB 4 Darwyn Kelly  Fr STAR 5 James Crawford  Fr LB 6 Carroll Phillips  So DB 7 Caleb Day So DB 8 Dillan Cazley So STAR 9 Earnest Thomas III  Sr LB 10 B. J. Bello  So STAR 14 Eric Finney  Jr DB 15 Jevaris Little  So DL 17 Jihad Ward Jr DB 20 Clayton Fejedelem  Jr DB 21 Zane Petty  Sr LB 22 LaKeith Walls  So DB 23 Dennis Thurow  Fr DB 24 Darius Mosely So DB 25 Sean Arowolaju  So DB 26 Cedric Doxy  So DB 27 Eaton Spencer  Jr DB 28 Jaylen Dunlap So STAR 29 Nelson Lugo  So DB 30 Julian Hylton Fr DB 31 Nick North  Jr DB 32 Chris James Fr STAR 33 Zepheniah Grimes  Jr LB 34 Mike Svetina Jr LB 35 Sean White  So LB 36 Austin Roberts Fr DB 37 Davontay Kwaaning  Jr DB 38 Samuel Harlib  Fr LB 39 Nathan Echard  Fr LB 42 Ralph Cooper Sr LB 43 Mason Monheim Jr DL 44 Austin Teitsma  Sr LB 45 Henry McGrew Fr STAR 46 Jason Goldsmith Fr LEO 48 Tate Gordon Fr STAR 49 Conner Schmidt  Fr LB 52 T. J. Neal  So LB 55 Tre Watson Fr DL 58 Kenny Nelson  Jr DL 85 Brandon Roberts  Fr LEO 90 DeJazz Woods  Sr LEO 91 Dawuane Smoot So DL 92 Abe Cajuste  Sr DL 93 Teko Powell Jr DL 94 Tito Odenigbo Fr DL/FB 95 Jake Howe  Sr DL 96 Rob Bain  So DL 97 Paul James III Fr DL 98 Joe Fotu Jr DL 99 Jarrod Clements So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK/P 13 Ryan Frain  So PK 17 Taylor Zalewski  Jr P 18 Justin DuBernois Sr PK 38 David Reisner  So P 40 Ryan Tucker Fr P 41 Nick Kybruz Fr LS 54 Zach Hirth  So LS 56 Michael Martin  So PK 83 Brennen VanMieghem Sr	Head coach Tim Beckman Coordinators/assistant coaches Tim Banks (defensive coordinator / secondary) Bill Cubit (offensive coordinator / quarterbacks) Mike Bellamy (wide receivers) Tom Brattan (offensive line) Greg Colby (defensive line) Alex Golesh (tight ends / specialist / recruiting coordinator) Tim Salem (running backs / special teams coordinator) Al Seamonson (outside linebackers) Mike Ward (inside linebackers) Robert Arnheim (graduate assistant - offense) Kolby Jackson (graduate assistant - defense) Tyler Johns (graduate assistant - offense) LeDominique Williams (graduate assistant - defense) Nina Baloun (assistant recruiting coordinator) Trent Chesnut (head football equipment manager) Dane Chester (director of football game analysis) Ryan Cubit (director of football student-athlete development) Aaron Hillmann (head football strength & conditioning coach) Tim Knox (director of football operations) Jake Naas (head football athletic trainer) Eric Streeter (assistant athletic trainer) Juice Williams (director of alumni and former player relations) Scott Yielding (director of player personnel) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: December 3, 2014

Game summaries

Youngstown State

Youngstown State Penguins vs Illinois Fighting Illini – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Youngstown State	3	3	3	8	17
Illinois	0	7	0	21	28

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL

• Date: August 30, 2014
• Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
• Game weather: Temperature: • Wind: • Weather:
• Game attendance:  
• Referee: Referee: • Umpire: • Linesman: • Line judge: • Back judge: • Field judge: • Side judge:
• TV announcers (BTN): Chris Denari (Play-by-play) & Danan Hughes (Color)

Game information
First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter Top Passers YSU – ILL – Top Rushers YSU – ILL – Top Receiving YSU – ILL – Top Tackler YSU – ILL –

See also: 2014 Youngstown State Penguins football team

Western Kentucky

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Illinois Fighting Illini – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Western Kentucky	3	14	10	7	34
Illinois	7	7	7	21	42

at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL

• Date: September 6, 2014
• Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
• Game weather: Temperature: • Wind: • Weather:
• Game attendance:  
• Referee: Referee: • Umpire: • Linesman: • Line judge: • Back judge: • Field judge: • Side judge:
• TV announcers (BTN): Chris Denari (Play-by-play), J Leman (Color) & Rebecca Haarlow (Sideline)

Game information
First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter Top Passers WKU – ILL – Top Rushers WKU – ILL – Top Receiving WKU – ILL – Top Tackler WKU – ILL –

See also: 2014 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	3	9	7	0	19
Huskies	21	17	0	6	44

See also: 2014 Washington Huskies football team

Texas State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	14	7	7	7	35
Fighting Illini	6	7	12	17	42

See also: 2014 Texas State Bobcats football team

Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	7	7	0	0	14
Cornhuskers	7	24	7	7	45

See also: 2014 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
Boilermakers	7	10	14	7	38
Fighting Illini	14	0	13	0	27

See also: 2014 Purdue Boilermakers football team and Purdue Cannon

Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	14	0	0	14	28
Badgers	7	17	7	7	38

See also: 2014 Wisconsin Badgers football team

Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	0	3	21	0	24
Fighting Illini	14	0	7	7	28

See also: 2014 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Ohio State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	0	0	7	7	14
Buckeyes	17	14	17	7	55

See also: 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes football team and Illibuck

Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hawkeyes	2	7	7	14	30
Fighting Illini	7	0	0	7	14

See also: 2014 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Nittany Lions	7	0	0	7	14
Fighting Illini	0	7	3	6	16

See also: 2014 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

Northwestern

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Illinois	13	13	7	14	47
Northwestern	0	7	10	16	33

• Date: November 29
• Location: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
• Game start: 11:00 a.m. CST
• TV announcers (ESPNU): Mark Neely (Play-by-play) & Ray Bentley (Color)

Scoring summary

Q1	1:41	ILL	Turner 10 yard pass from O'Toole (Reisner kick)	ILL 7–0
Q1	:56	ILL	Ferguson 1 yard run (kick failed)	ILL 13–0
Q2	12:26	ILL	Reisner 33 yard field goal	ILL 16–0
Q2	5:39	ILL	Zalewski 33 yard field goal	ILL 19–0
Q2	5:24	NW	Vault 89 yard kickoff return (Mitchell kick)	ILL 19–7
Q2	:47	ILL	Dudek 14 yard pass from O'Toole (Zalewski kick)	ILL 26–7
Q3	12:24	NW	Mitchell 34 yard field goal	ILL 26–10
Q3	7:24	ILL	Barr 9 yard pass from O'Toole (Zalewski kick)	ILL 33–10
Q3	3:56	NW	Jackson 5 yard run (Mitchell kick)	ILL 33–17
Q4	14:05	NW	Jackson 35 yard pass from Oliver (Dickerson pass from Oliver)	ILL 33–25
Q4	12:39	ILL	Ferguson 46 yard run (Zalewski kick)	ILL 40–25
Q4	4:58	ILL	Monheim 49 yard interception return (Zalewski kick)	ILL 47–25
Q4	1:28	NW	Green 4 yard pass from Oliver (Jones pass from Oliver)	ILL 47–33

See also: 2014 Northwestern Wildcats football team and Land of Lincoln Trophy

Reilly O'Toole passed for 147 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 147 yards. ^[5]

Louisiana Tech–Heart of Dallas Bowl

See also: 2014 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team and 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl (December)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	3	6	6	3	18
Bulldogs	14	7	0	14	35

References

1. "2014 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
2. "2014 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
3. "2014 Illinois Fighting Illini Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
4. "Coaches". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
5. Jackson, John (November 29, 2014). "Illinois Bowl Eligible With 47-33 Win". ESPN . Associated Press . Retrieved November 30, 2014.