1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
APNo. 15
Record5–4–1 (3–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPBuddy Young
CaptainGame captains
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1943
1945 →
1944 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Ohio State $ 6 0 0 9 0 0
No. 8 Michigan 5 2 0 8 2 0
Purdue 4 2 0 5 5 0
Minnesota 3 2 1 5 3 1
Indiana 4 3 0 7 3 0
No. 15 Illinois 3 3 0 5 4 1
Wisconsin 2 4 0 3 6 0
Northwestern 0 5 1 1 7 1
Iowa 0 6 0 1 7 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1944 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Illini compiled a 5–3–1 record, were ranked #15 in the final AP Poll, and finished in sixth place in the Big Ten Conference. The team lost three games to teams ranked in the top 10 in the AP Poll: #9-ranked Notre Dame (7–13); #8-ranked Michigan (0–14); and #2-ranked Ohio State (12–26).[1] Halfback Buddy Young was selected as the team's most valuable player.[2]

  1. ^ "1944 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 28, 2016.