1965 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1965 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois in the 1965 Big Ten Conference football season. In their sixth season under head coach Pete Elliott, the Illini compiled a 6–4 (4–3 against Big Ten Conference opponents), outscored opponents 235 to 118, and finished fifth in the Big Ten.^[1] Fullback Jim Grabowski was selected as the team's most valuable player, received the team's most valuable player award, and was a consensus pick for the 1965 College Football All-America Team.^[2][3]

1965 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	6–4 (4–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pete Elliott (6th season)
MVP	Jim Grabowski
Captain	Jim Grabowski, Don Hansen
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1964 1966 →

1965 Big Ten Conference football standings

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

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	Oregon State*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 10–12	34,000
September 25	SMU*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 42–0	45,175
October 2	at No. 9 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 12–22	71,237
October 9	at Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	L 14–28	83,712
October 16	Indiana	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 34–13	61,257
October 23	Duke*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 28–14	47,077
October 30	No. 6 Purdue	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 21–0	59,507
November 6	Michigan	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	L 3–23	50,136	[4]
November 13	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 51–0	55,192
November 20	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	W 20–6	41,348
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[5]

Awards and honors

• Jim Grabowski (fullback)
  • Chicago Tribune Silver Football
  • Consensus All-American

Team players in the NFL

Player	Round	Pick	Position	Club
Jim Grabowski	1	9	Running back	Green Bay Packers
Don Hansen	3	42	Linebacker	Minnesota Vikings
Ron Acks	4	57	Defensive end	Minnesota Vikings
Sam Price	16	240	Defensive end	New York Giants
Gary Eickman	17	254	Defensive end	New York Giants
Kai Anderson	18	268	Defensive end	New York Giants
Dale Greco	18	270	Defensive tackle	Minnesota Vikings

^[6]

• Jim Grabowski was also the first pick overall in the 1966 American Football League Draft. He was the first ever draft pick of the Miami Dolphins.

References

1. "1965 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
3. "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
4. Bob Pille (November 7, 1965). "M Beats Illini For Bump, As Usual, 23-3". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 2C – via Newspapers.com.
5. "All Time Scores". University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
6. "1966 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.