1972 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

American college football season

1972 Illinois Fighting Illini football

Conference| Big Ten Conference
Record| 3–8 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach|

* Bob Blackman (2nd season)

MVPs|

* Larry McCarren
* Larry Allen

Captains|

* Larry McCarren
* John Wiza

Home stadium| Memorial Stadium

Seasons

← 1971

1973 →

1972 Big Ten Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |   | L |   | T |  |  | W |   | L |   | T
No. 6 Michigan \+  | 7  | – | 1  | – | 0 |  |  | 10  | – | 1  | – | 0
No. 9 Ohio State \+  | 7  | – | 1  | – | 0 |  |  | 9  | – | 2  | – | 0
Purdue | 6  | – | 2  | – | 0 |  |  | 6  | – | 5  | – | 0
Michigan State | 5  | – | 2  | – | 1 |  |  | 5  | – | 5  | – | 1
Minnesota | 4  | – | 4  | – | 0 |  |  | 4  | – | 7  | – | 0
Indiana | 3  | – | 5  | – | 0 |  |  | 5  | – | 6  | – | 0
Illinois | 3  | – | 5  | – | 0 |  |  | 3  | – | 8  | – | 0
Iowa | 2  | – | 6  | – | 1 |  |  | 3  | – | 7  | – | 1
Wisconsin | 2  | – | 6  | – | 0 |  |  | 4  | – | 7  | – | 0
Northwestern | 1  | – | 8  | – | 0 |  |  | 2  | – | 9  | – | 0

* \+ – Conference co-champions

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1972 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach Bob Blackman, the Illini compiled a 3–8 record and finished in a tie for sixth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1]

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mike Wells with 837 passing yards, running back George Uremovich with 611 rushing yards, and wide receiver Garvin Roberson with 569 receiving yards.[2] Center Larry McCarren and defensive end Larry Allen were selected as the team's most valuable players.[3]

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|

September 16| Michigan State|

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, IL

| L 0–24| 55,493|
September 23| No. 1 USC*|

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, IL

| L 20–55| 61,277|
September 30| at No. 14 Washington*|

* Husky Stadium
* Seattle, WA

| L 11–31| 60,200|
October 7| No. 16 Penn State*|

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, IL

| L 17–35| 60,349|
October 14| at No. 4 Ohio State|

* Ohio Stadium
* Columbus, OH (Illibuck)

| L 7–26| 86,298|
October 21| No. 6 Michigan|

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, IL (rivalry)

| L 7–31| 64,290| [4]
October 28| at Purdue|

* Ross–Ade Stadium
* West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)

| L 14–20| 61,754|
November 4| at Northwestern|

* Dyche Stadium
* Evanston, IL (rivalry)

| W 43–13| 35,235|
November 11| Indiana|

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, IL (rivalry)

| W 37–20| 55,077|
November 18| Wisconsin|

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, IL

| W 27–7| 45,703|
November 25| at Iowa|

* Kinnick Stadium
* Iowa City, IA

| L 14–15| 25,000|

* *Non-conference game
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

## Roster

[edit]

1972 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

OT | `54` | Larry McCarren | Sr
QB | `12` | Mike Wells | Sr
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

Head coach

* Bob Blackman

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1972 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. ^ "1972 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.
4. ^ Curt Sylvester (October 21, 1972). "U-M Rips Illinois for 6th in Row, 31–7". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E, 4E – via Newspapers.com.

* v
* t
* e

Illinois Fighting Illini football

Venues|

* Illinois Field (1890–1922)
* Memorial Stadium (1923–present)
* Soldier Field (1994–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Indiana
* Michigan
* Missouri
* Northwestern
* Ohio State: Illibuck
* Purdue

Culture & lore|

* Illinois Loyalty
* "Oskee Wow-Wow"
* Marching Illini
* Gene Honda
* Fighting Illini Sports Network
* Chief Illiniwek
* 1960s slush fund scandal
* 2021 Penn State game

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
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* 1913
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* 1916
* 1917
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* 1972
* 1973
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National championship seasons in bold

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* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number