1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third year under head coach Bob Blackman, the Illini compiled a 5–6 record and finished in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten Conference.^[1]

1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–6 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bob Blackman (3rd season)
MVP	Eddie Jenkins, Octavus Morgan
Captain	John Gann, Ken Braid
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1972 1974 →

1973 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Ohio State +	7	–	0	–	1			10	–	0	–	1
No. 6 Michigan +	7	–	0	–	1			10	–	0	–	1
Minnesota	6	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Illinois	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Michigan State	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Purdue	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Northwestern	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Indiana	0	–	8	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Iowa	0	–	8	–	0			0	–	11	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Jeff Hollenbach with 916 passing yards, running back George Uremovich with 519 rushing yards, and wide receiver Garvin Roberson with 416 receiving yards.^[2] Halfback Eddie Jenkins and defensive end Octavus Morgan were selected as the team's most valuable players.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)	W 28–14	51,433
September 22	at California*	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 27–7	22,000
September 29	West Virginia*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 10–17	48,107	[4]
October 6	Stanford*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 0–24	45,383
October 13	Purdue	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 15–13	54,252
October 20	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 6–3	63,303
October 27	Iowa	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 50–0	48,864
November 3	No. 1 Ohio State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)	L 0–30	60,707
November 10	at No. 4 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	L 6–21	76,461	[5]
November 17	Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 16–19	34,438
November 24	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	L 6–9	26,117
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 19 Jeff Hollenbach Jr RB 23 Eddie Jenkins Sr QB 11 Tom McCartney Sr RB 33 Lonnie Perrin Jr WR Garvin Roberson RB George Uremovich	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 40 Octavius Morgan Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P Phil Vierneisel	Head coach Bob Blackman Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "1973 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. "1973 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
3. "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
4. "West Virginia deals Illini first loss, 17–10". Lansing State Journal. September 30, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Curt Sylvester (November 11, 1973). "U-M Beats Illinois' 21–6: Overcomes 6 Fumbles". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E, 5E. Retrieved June 27, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.