1978 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1978 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach Gary Moeller, the Illini compiled a 1–8–2 record and finished in ninth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1]

1978 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record1–8–2 (0–6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPJohn Sullivan, Randy Taylor
CaptainJohn Sullivan, Randy Taylor
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1978 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Michigan + 7 –1 –010 –2 –0
No. 12 Michigan State + 7 –1 –08 –3 –0
No. 13 Purdue 6 –1 –19 –2 –1
Ohio State 6 –2 –07 –4 –1
Minnesota 4 –4 –05 –6 –0
Wisconsin 3 –4 –25 –4 –2
Indiana 3 –5 –04 –7 –0
Iowa 2 –6 –02 –9 –0
Illinois 0 –6 –21 –8 –2
Northwestern 0 –8 –10 –10 –1
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Rich Weiss with 665 passing yards, running back Wayne Strader with 389 rushing yards, and wide receiver Jeff Barnes with 270 receiving yards.[2] Linebacker John Sullivan and center Randy Taylor were selected as the team's most valuable players.[3]

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 9Northwestern
T 0–040,091
September 16at No. 4 Michigan
L 0–31104,102[4][5]
September 23Stanford*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 10–3543,143
September 30at Syracuse*
W 28–1420,101
October 7at Missouri*
L 3–4562,062
October 14Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
T 20–2051,160
October 21No. 19 Purdue
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
L 0–1350,918
October 28at Indiana
L 10–3137,355
November 4No. 18 Michigan State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 19–5948,077
November 11at Ohio State
L 7–4587,719
November 18at Minnesota
L 6–2425,388
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References
  1. "1978 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. "1978 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. Tom Henderson (September 17, 1978). "Leach drives U-M past Illinois, 31-0". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 8E – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Henry Engelhardt (September 17, 1978). "Michigan rolls past bumbling Illini, 31-0". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 12 – via Bentley Historical Library.


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