1954 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1954 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record1–8 (0–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPJack Chamblin
CaptainJan Smid
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1954 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Ohio State $ 7 0 0 10 0 0
No. 9 Wisconsin 5 2 0 7 2 0
No. 15 Michigan 5 2 0 6 3 0
Minnesota 4 2 0 7 2 0
Iowa 4 3 0 5 4 0
Purdue 3 3 0 5 3 1
Indiana 2 4 0 3 6 0
Michigan State 1 5 0 3 6 0
Northwestern 1 5 0 2 7 0
0 6 0 1 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1954 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1954 Big Ten season. In their 13th year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Fighting Illini compiled a 1–8 record (0–6 in conference games), finished in last place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 180 to 103.[1]

Guard Jan Smid was selected as a second-team player on the 1954 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[2][3][4][5] Center Jack Chamblin was selected as the team's most valuable player.[6]

The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 25Penn State*No. 6L 12–1454,094
October 2at Stanford*L 2–1230,000
October 9No. 10 Ohio State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (Illibuck)
L 7–4069,567
October 16at No. 11 MinnesotaL 6–1963,339
October 23Syracuse*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 34–641,820
October 30at No. 9 PurdueL 14–2847,000
November 6at MichiganL 7–1458,777
November 13No. 14 Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 14–2771,119
November 20Northwestern
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
L 7–2039,186
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

  1. ^ "1954 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  2. ^ "A.P. Lists 1954 All Big Ten Choices" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 23, 1954. p. 4.
  3. ^ "Ohio State Dominates All-Conference Team". The Journal Herald. November 23, 1954. p. 42 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "All Big Ten Team Is Chosen by INS". Journal and Courier. November 23, 1954. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Editors Pick Big Ten Squad". Daily Illini. November 23, 1954. p. 9.
  6. ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 28, 2016.