1971 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1971 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1971 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Bob Blackman, the Illini compiled a 5–6 record and finished in a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten Conference.[1]

1971 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1971 record	5–6 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bob Blackman (1st season)
MVP	Terry Masar
Captain	Glenn Collier, Larry McCarren
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1971 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Michigan $	8	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
Northwestern	6	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Ohio State	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Michigan State	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Illinois	5	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Indiana	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Iowa	1	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mike Wells with 1,007 passing yards, running back John Wilson with 543 rushing yards, and wide receiver Garvin Roberson with 372 receiving yards.[2] Punter/halfback Terry Masar was selected as the team's most valuable player.[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 11	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 0–10
September 18	North Carolina*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 0–27
September 25	at No. 16 USC*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 0–28
October 2	No. 15 Washington*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 14–52
October 9	No. 15 Ohio State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)	L 10–24
October 16	at No. 3 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 6–35
October 23	No. 17 Purdue	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Purdue Cannon)	W 21–7
October 30	Northwestern	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)	W 24–7
November 6	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	W 22–21
November 13	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 35–27
November 20	Iowa	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 31–0
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1971 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class T 76 Mike Dobrzeniecki Jr T 73 Bruce Dobson So T 79 Dennis Driscoll Jr TE 86 Bob Dubrish So G 64 Bob Elledge Jr G 56 John Gann So C 54 Larry McCarren Jr C 51 Gerry Sullivan So QB 12 Mike Wells Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 52 Larry Allen Jr DE 75 Tab Bennett Jr DB 24 Jamie Dufelmeier Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Bob Blackman Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "1971 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. "1971 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.