2001 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

American college football season

2001 Illinois Fighting Illini football

Big Ten champion

Sugar Bowl, L 47–34 vs. LSU

Conference| Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches| No. 12[1]
AP| No. 12[2]
Record| 10–2 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach|

* Ron Turner (5th season)

Offensive coordinator| Ron Turner (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator| Mike Cassity (1st season)
Home stadium| Memorial Stadium
(Capacity: 70,904)

Seasons

← 2000

2002 →

2001 Big Ten Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team |   | W |   | L |   |  |  |   | W |   | L |
No. 12 Illinois $  |   | 7  | – | 1  |   |  |  |   | 10  | – | 2  |
No. 20 Michigan |   | 6  | – | 2  |   |  |  |   | 8  | – | 4  |
Ohio State |   | 5  | – | 3  |   |  |  |   | 7  | – | 5  |
Iowa |   | 4  | – | 4  |   |  |  |   | 7  | – | 5  |
Purdue |   | 4  | – | 4  |   |  |  |   | 6  | – | 6  |
Penn State |   | 4  | – | 4  |   |  |  |   | 5  | – | 6  |
Indiana |   | 4  | – | 4  |   |  |  |   | 5  | – | 6  |
Michigan State |   | 3  | – | 5  |   |  |  |   | 7  | – | 5  |
Wisconsin |   | 3  | – | 5  |   |  |  |   | 5  | – | 7  |
Minnesota |   | 2  | – | 6  |   |  |  |   | 4  | – | 7  |
Northwestern |   | 2  | – | 6  |   |  |  |   | 4  | – | 7  |

* $ – BCS representative as conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

The 2001 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. They participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. Their home games were played at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. Led by senior quarterback Kurt Kittner, the team won the Big Ten Conference title and earned a Sugar Bowl berth, but lost to LSU, 47–34.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Rank| Site| TV| Result| Attendance

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

September 1| 2:30 pm| at California*| |

* Memorial Stadium
* Berkeley, California

| FSN| W 44–17| 38,160[3]
September 8| 11:00 am| Northern Illinois*| |

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, Illinois

| ESPN+| W 17–12| 45,674[4]
September 22| 11:00 am| No. 25 Louisville*| |

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, Illinois

| ESPN| W 34–10| 43,232[5]
September 29| 2:30 pm| at No. 17 Michigan| No. 22|

* Michigan Stadium
* Ann Arbor, Michigan (rivalry)

| ABC| L 20–45| 107,085[6]
October 6| 11:00 am| Minnesota| |

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, Illinois

| ESPN+| W 32–14| 53,225[7]
October 13| 12:00 pm| at Indiana| |

* Memorial Stadium
* Bloomington, Indiana (rivalry)

| | W 35–14| 31,116[8]
October 20| 11:00 am| Wisconsin| |

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, Illinois

| ESPN| W 42–35| 70,904[9]
November 3| 11:00 am| at No. 20 Purdue| No. 21|

* Ross–Ade Stadium
* West Lafayette, Indiana (Purdue Cannon)

| ESPN| W 38–13| 61,568[10]
November 10| 2:30 pm| Penn State| No. 15|

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, Illinois

| ABC| W 33–28| 70,904[11]
November 17| 11:00 am| at No. 25 Ohio State| No. 12|

* Ohio Stadium
* Columbus, Ohio (Illibuck Trophy)

| ESPN| W 34–22| 104,407[12]
November 22| 11:00 am| Northwestern| No. 10|

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, Illinois (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)

| ESPN2| W 34–28| 45,755[13]
January 1| 7:30 pm| vs. No. 12 LSU*| No. 7|

* Louisiana Superdome
* New Orleans (Sugar Bowl)

| ABC| L 34–47| 77,688[14]

* *Non-conference game
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Central time

## Roster

[edit]

2001 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster

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

|
|
|

C | `71` | Luke Butkus | Sr
FB | `24` | Carey Davis | So
G | `64` | David Diehl | Jr
QB | `15` | Kurt Kittner | Sr
WR | `17` | Greg Lewis | Jr
WR | `6` | Brandon Lloyd | Sr
WR | `86` | Aaron Moorehead | Jr
G | `79` | Tony Pashos | Sr
C | `75` | Duke Preston | Fr
QB/RB | `18` | Walter Young | Jr
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

DT | `96` | Brandon Moore | Sr
LB | `44` | Matt Sinclair | Fr
DB | `28` | Eugene Wilson | Jr
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

K | `22` | Peter Christofilakos | So
P | `37` | Steve Weatherford | Fr

Head coach

* Ron Turner

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* * *

Legend

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

* Injured
* Redshirt

* * *

Roster

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Year-by-Year Final Coaches' Polls – AFCA.com—Official Site of the American Football Coaches Association Archived 2011-01-02 at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ CNNSI.com – College Football – Associated Press Top 25 College Football Poll – Tuesday January 8, 2002
3. ^ "Illinois at California". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. September 1, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
4. ^ "Northern Illinois at Illinois". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. September 8, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
5. ^ "Louisville at Illinois". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. September 22, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
6. ^ "Michigan 45, Illinois 20". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. September 29, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
7. ^ "Minnesota at Illinois". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. October 6, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
8. ^ "Illinois 35, Indiana 14". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. October 13, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
9. ^ "Wisconsin at Illinois". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. October 20, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
10. ^ "Illinois 38, Purdue 13". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. November 3, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
11. ^ "Penn State at Illinois". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. November 10, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
12. ^ "Illinois 34, Ohio State 22". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. November 17, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
13. ^ "No. 10 Illinois 34, Northwestern 28". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. November 24, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
14. ^ "Louisiana State 47, Illinois 34". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. January 1, 2002. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.

* 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
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

National championship seasons in bold

* v
* t
* e

Big Ten Conference football champions

Western Conference|

* Wisconsin (1896)
* Wisconsin (1897)
* Michigan (1898)
* Chicago (1899)
* Iowa & Minnesota (1900)
* Michigan & Wisconsin (1901)
* Michigan (1902)
* Michigan, Minnesota, & Northwestern (1903)
* Michigan & Minnesota (1904)
* Chicago (1905)
* Michigan, Minnesota, & Wisconsin (1906)
* Chicago (1907)
* Chicago (1908)
* Minnesota (1909)
* Illinois & Minnesota (1910)
* Minnesota (1911)
* Wisconsin (1912)
* Chicago (1913)
* Illinois (1914)
* Illinois & Minnesota (1915)
* Ohio State (1916)

Big Ten|

* Ohio State (1917)
* Illinois, Michigan, & Purdue (1918)
* Illinois (1919)
* Ohio State (1920)
* Iowa (1921)
* Chicago, Iowa, & Michigan (1922)
* Illinois & Michigan (1923)
* Chicago (1924)
* Michigan (1925)
* Michigan & Northwestern (1926)
* Illinois & Minnesota (1927)
* Illinois (1928)
* Purdue (1929)
* Michigan & Northwestern (1930)
* Purdue, Michigan & Northwestern (1931)
* Michigan & Purdue (1932)
* Michigan & Minnesota (1933)
* Minnesota (1934)
* Minnesota & Ohio State (1935)
* Northwestern (1936)
* Minnesota (1937)
* Minnesota (1938)
* Ohio State (1939)
* Minnesota (1940)
* Minnesota (1941)
* Ohio State (1942)
* Michigan & Purdue (1943)
* Ohio State (1944)
* Indiana (1945)

Big Nine|

* Illinois (1946)
* Michigan (1947)
* Michigan (1948)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1949)

Big Ten|

* Michigan (1950)
* Illinois (1951)
* Purdue & Wisconsin (1952)
* Illinois & Michigan State (1953)
* Ohio State (1954)
* Ohio State (1955)
* Iowa (1956)
* Ohio State (1957)
* Iowa (1958)
* Wisconsin (1959)
* Minnesota & Iowa (1960)
* Ohio State (1961)
* Wisconsin (1962)
* Illinois (1963)
* Michigan (1964)
* Michigan State (1965)
* Michigan State (1966)
* Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue (1967)
* Ohio State (1968)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1969)
* Ohio State (1970)
* Michigan (1971)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1972)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1973)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1974)
* Ohio State (1975)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1976)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1977)
* Michigan & Michigan State (1978)
* Ohio State (1979)
* Michigan (1980)
* Iowa & Ohio State (1981)
* Michigan (1982)
* Illinois (1983)
* Ohio State (1984)
* Iowa (1985)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1986)
* Michigan State (1987)
* Michigan (1988)
* Michigan (1989)
* Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, & Michigan State (1990)
* Michigan (1991)
* Michigan (1992)
* Ohio State & Wisconsin (1993)
* Penn State (1994)
* Northwestern (1995)
* Ohio State & Northwestern (1996)
* Michigan (1997)
* Michigan, Ohio State, & Wisconsin (1998)
* Wisconsin (1999)
* Michigan, Northwestern, & Purdue (2000)
* Illinois (2001)
* Ohio State & Iowa (2002)
* Michigan (2003)
* Iowa & Michigan (2004)
* Ohio State & Penn State (2005)
* Ohio State (2006)
* Ohio State (2007)
* Ohio State & Penn State (2008)
* Ohio State (2009)
* Michigan State & Wisconsin (2010)
* Wisconsin (2011)
* Wisconsin (2012)
* Michigan State (2013)
* Ohio State (2014)
* Michigan State (2015)
* Penn State (2016)
* Ohio State (2017)
* Ohio State (2018)
* Ohio State (2019)
* Ohio State (2020)
* Michigan (2021)
* Michigan (2022)
* Michigan (2023)
* Oregon (2024)

National championships in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[No.]: Number