1989 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1989 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Florida Citrus Bowl champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 10
APNo. 10
Record10–2 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGene Dahlquist (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorLou Tepper (2nd season)
MVPs
Captains
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1989 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Michigan $ 8 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 10 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 16 Michigan State 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 24 Ohio State 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Minnesota 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Indiana 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Iowa 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Purdue 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Wisconsin 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1989 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 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach John Mackovic, the Fighting Illini compiled a 10–2 record (7–1 in conference games), finished in second place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 301 to 161. Illinois concluded its season in the 1990 Florida Citrus Bowl, defeating Virginia by a 31–21 score. They were ranked No. 10 in the final AP and UPI polls.[1]

Quarterback Jeff George led the Big Ten with 216 completions, 348 pass attempts, 2,417 passing yards, and 19 passing touchdowns. George won the Sammy Baugh Trophy as the best quarterback in college football. The team's other statistical leaders included fullback Howard Griffith (654 rushing yards, 66 points scored) and wide receiver Mike Bellamy (51 receptions for 761 yards).[2]

Nine Illinois players received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) or United Press International (UPI) on the 1989 All-Big Ten Conference football team: George at quarterback (AP-1, UPI-1); Bellamy at wide receiver (AP-2, UPI-1); center Curt Lovelace (AP-1); defensive linemen Mel Agee (AP-1, UPI-1) and Moe Gardner (AP-1, UPI-1); linebacker Darrick Brownlow (AP-1, UPI-1): and defensive backs Henry Jones (AP-1, UPI-1) and Marlon Primous (AP-2, UPI-1).[3][4]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 42:30 pmat No. 5 USC*No. 22
ABCW 14–1354,622[5]
September 162:30 pmat No. 8 Colorado*No. 10
CBSL 7–3846,747[6]
September 231:00 pmUtah State*No. 20
W 41–261,553[7]
October 72:30 pmOhio StateNo. 18
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (Illibuck)
ABCW 34–1469,088[8]
October 141:00 pmat PurdueNo. 16
W 14–241,101[9]
October 2111:30 amat Michigan StateNo. 13
ESPNW 14–1076,216[10]
October 281:00 pmWisconsindaggerNo. 8
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 32–964,856[11]
November 42:30 pmat IowaNo. 8
ABCW 31–767,700[12]
November 112:30 pmNo. 3 MichiganNo. 8
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
ABCL 10–2473,069[13]
November 182:30 pmIndianaNo. 12
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
ABCW 41–2853,368[14]
November 252:00 pmat NorthwesternNo. 11
W 63–1431,017[15]
January 112:30 pmvs. No. 16 Virginia*No. 11
ABCW 31–2160,016[16]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Rankings

Main article: 1989 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Game summaries

Ohio State

See also: Illibuck
Ohio State Buckeyes (2–1) at #18 Illinois Fighting Illini (2–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Ohio St 0 7 7014
Illinois 7 3 141034

at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois

  • Date: October 7
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 54 °F (12 °C)
  • Game attendance: 69,088
  • Referee: Gil Marchman
  • TV: ABC
  • Box Score
Game information

At Purdue

See also: Purdue Cannon
#16 Illinois Fighting Illini (3–1) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–3)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Illinois 7 0 0714
Purdue 0 0 022

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

  • Date: October 14, 1989
  • Game attendance: 41,101

Jeff George made his first appearance at Purdue since transferring following the 1986 season[17][18][19]

Team Category Player Statistics
Illinois Passing Jeff George 24/42, 254 Yds, TD
Rushing Howard Griffith 24 Rush, 94 Yds, TD
Receiving
Purdue Passing Jeff Lesniewicz 9/22, 82 Yds
Rushing
Receiving

Florida Citrus Bowl (vs. Virginia)

Illinois vs. Virginia
Team 1 234Total
• No. 11 Fighting Illini 7 1077 31
No. 16 Cavaliers 0 777 21
Main article: 1990 Florida Citrus Bowl
See also: 1989 Virginia Cavaliers football team

Roster

1989 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB Kameno Bell
WR 2 Mike Bellamy Sr
RB Victor Bowlay-Williams
RB Darren Boyer
TE Dan Donovan
RB Steve Feagin
TE Jeff Finke
QB 11 Jeff George Jr
RB 29 Howard Griffith Jr
TE 82 Frank Hartley Jr
OT 79 Brad Hopkins So
QB Jeff Kinney
OL Tony Laster
RB Wagner Lester
OL Curt Lovelace
WR Gus Palma
OL Cam Pepper
WR Luke Petraitis
RB Alfred Pierce
WR Dino Pollock
OL Craig Schneider
RB Errol Shavers
WR Dave Silva
C 69 Tim Simpson So
RB Art Slowinski
RB Ken Thomas
QB Jason Verduzco
WR Shawn Wax
WR Steve Williams
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 96 Mel Agee Jr
LB Romero Brice
LB Julyon Brown
LB 48 Darrick Brownlow Jr
DT 95 Moe Gardner Jr
LB Steve Glasson
DB 33 Chris Green Jr
LB Jason Guard
DB Mike Hopkins
DB 18 Henry Jones Jr
DB 37 Steve Nelson Jr
DB Quintin Parker
DB Marlon Primous
DL Sean Streeter
LB Brian Williams
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Doug Higgins
P Brian Menkhausen
K Chris Siambekos
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Awards and honors

1990 NFL draft

Player Round Pick Position Club
Jeff George 1 1 Quarterback Indianapolis Colts
Mike Bellamy 2 50 Wide receiver Philadelphia Eagles

[21]

References

  1. ^ "1989 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  2. ^ "1989 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  3. ^ "Indiana's Thompson heads All-Big Ten team". The Daily Reporter (AP story). November 30, 1989. p. 5.
  4. ^ "UPI All-Big Ten team". Detroit Free Press. November 30, 1989. p. 6F.
  5. ^ "Illinois rally jolts Southern California". The Courier-News. September 5, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Colorado hopes to climb after scaling Illinois". The Tennessean. September 17, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Illini have it their way with Aggies". Quad-City Times. September 24, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Illini pass-and-catch whips Buckeyes, 34–14". Sunday Herald-Times. October 8, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Positive Akers pleased with his Boilermakers". The Kokomo Tribune. October 15, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Spartan's fumble sets up Illini victory". The Saginaw News. October 22, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Illinois remains on top". Star Tribune. October 29, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Illini get well-rounded effort in win over Iowa". The Pantagraph. November 5, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Victory puts Michigan in driver's seat". Wisconsin State Journal. November 12, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "By George, IU whipped". The Republic. November 19, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Illini roar into Citrus Bowl bid". Herald and Review. November 26, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Illinois just too strong for Virginia in 31–21 win". St. Petersburg Times. January 2, 1990. Retrieved February 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Slater, Jim (October 14, 1989). "Illinois 14, Purdue 2". UPI Archives. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  18. ^ Tatlock, David (October 16, 1989). "Purdue Defense Shines in Loss". The Purdue Exponent Archives. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  19. ^ Youmans, Matt (October 16, 1989). "Boiler Defense Goes to Waste as Illinois Wins". The Purdue Exponent Archives. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  20. ^ "Awards". www.touchdownclubofcolumbus.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.
  21. ^ "1990 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2007.
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