1955 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
| 1955 Illinois Fighting Illini football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Record | 5–3–1 (3–3–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| MVP | Em Lindbeck |
| Captain | Game captains |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 Ohio State $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Michigan State | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Michigan | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 4 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 0 | – | 6 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 8 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1955 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 1955 Big Ten season. In their 14th year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Fighting Illini compiled a 5–3–1 record (3–3–1 in conference games), finished in fifth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 149 to 114.[1]
Quarterback Em Lindbeck was selected as the team's most valuable player.[2] Two Illinois players received honors on the 1955 All-Big Ten Conference football team: halfback Bobby Mitchell (AP-1) and halfback Harry Jefferson (AP-2, UP-3, INS-1).[3][4][5]
The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 24 | at California* | W 20–13 | 32,000 | |||
| October 1 | Iowa State* | W 40–0 | 45,706 | |||
| October 8 | at Ohio State | L 12–27 | 82,407 | |||
| October 15 | Minnesota |
| W 21–13 | 45,995 | ||
| October 22 | at No. 6 Michigan State | L 7–21 | 51,851 | [6] | ||
| October 29 | Purdue |
| L 0–13 | 61,262 | ||
| November 5 | No. 3 Michigan |
| W 25–6 | 58,968 | [7] | |
| November 12 | at Wisconsin | No. 16 | W 17–14 | 53,529 | ||
| November 19 | at Northwestern | T 7–7 | 35,000 | |||
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Roster
References
- ^ "1955 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
- ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
- ^ "Five Boilermaker Gridders Gain Recognition on AP's All-Big Ten". Journal and Courier. November 22, 1955 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Krupa Named All-Big Ten: Dawson, Lundey, Murley, Murakowski Cited by UP". Journal and Courier. November 23, 1955. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Two Hawks On All-Big 10". The Des Moines Tribune. November 22, 1955. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ George S. Alderton (October 23, 1955). "Indian Totems Wave From Spartan Spears: Morrall Paces Michigan State To 21-7 Victory". Lansing State Journal. pp. 67, 68 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Fred Young (November 6, 1955). "Illinois Stuns Michigan With 25-6 Upset Victory". The Pantagraph. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.