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
1978 record1–8–2 (0–6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPJohn Sullivan, Randy Taylor
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1978 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 5 Michigan + 7 1 0  10 2 0
No. 12 Michigan State + 7 1 0  8 3 0
No. 13 Purdue 6 1 1  9 2 1
Ohio State 6 2 0  7 4 1
Minnesota 4 4 0  5 6 0
Wisconsin 3 4 2  5 4 2
Indiana 3 5 0  4 7 0
Iowa 2 6 0  2 9 0
Illinois 0 6 2  1 8 2
Northwestern 0 8 1  0 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

DateOpponentSiteResult
September 9NorthwesternT 0–0
September 16at No. 4 MichiganL 0–31
September 23Stanford*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 10–35
September 30at Syracuse*W 28–14
October 7at Missouri*L 3–45
October 14Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
T 20–20
October 21No. 19 Purdue
L 0–13
October 28at IndianaL 10–31
November 4No. 18 Michigan State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 19–59
November 11at Ohio StateL 7–45
November 18at MinnesotaL 6–24
  • *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.


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