1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
| 1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 3 |
| AP | No. 4 |
| Record | 9–0–1 (5–0–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| MVP | Chuck Boerio |
| Captain | Chuck Studley |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Illinois $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Wisconsin | 5 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 1 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1951 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 1951 Big Ten season. In their 10th year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Fighting Illini compiled a 9–0–1 record (5–0–1 in conference games), won the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 220 to 83. The lone setback was a scoreless tie with Ohio State. The Illini concluded the season with a 40–7 over Stanford in the 1952 Rose Bowl, the first nationally televised college football game. They were ranked No. 4 in the final AP poll. The team was named co-national champion by Boand, which split its selection with Georgia Tech.
Defensive back Al Brosky set an NCAA career record 29 interceptions, including an NCAA record 15-game streak covering the entire 1951 season. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
Halfback Johnny Karras was a consensus first-team pick on the 1951 All-America team. Linebacker Chuck Boerio was selected as the team's most valuable player. Six Illinois players received honors on the 1951 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Karras (AP-1, UP-1); Boerio (AP-1, UP-1); Brosky (AP-1); tackle Chuck Ulrich (AP-1, UP-1); Chuck Studley (AP-1, UP-1); and end Rex Smith (AP-1).
The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.