1977 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1977 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1977 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Gary Moeller, the Illini compiled a 3–8 record and finished in ninth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1]

1977 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1977 record	3–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Gary Moeller (1st season)
MVP	James Coleman, John Sullivan
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1977 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 9 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Ohio State +	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Michigan State	6	–	1	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
Indiana	4	–	3	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Iowa	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Illinois	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mike McCray with 418 passing yards, running back James Coleman with 715 rushing yards, and wide receiver Tom Schooley with 231 receiving yards.[2] Coleman and linebacker John Sullivan were selected as the team's most valuable players.[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 10	No. 2 Michigan	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 9–37
September 17	Missouri*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 11–7
September 24	at Stanford*	Stanford Stadium Palo Alto, CA	L 24–37
October 1	Syracuse*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 20–30
October 8	at No. 19 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 0–26
October 15	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (Purdue Cannon)	W 29–22
October 22	Indiana	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 21–7
October 29	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 20–49
November 5	No. 4 Ohio State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)	L 0–35
November 12	Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 0–21
November 19	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)	L 7–21
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1977 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 81 Mike Sherrod Jr QB 10 Nick Sowa Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 97 John Sullivan Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Gary Moeller Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "1977 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. "1977 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.