1985 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1985 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Peach Bowl, L 29–31 vs. Army
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record6–5–1 (5–2–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPDavid Williams
Captains
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1985 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Iowa $ 7 1 0 10 2 0
No. 2 Michigan 6 1 1 10 1 1
Illinois 5 2 1 6 5 1
No. 14 Ohio State 5 3 0 9 3 0
Michigan State 5 3 0 7 5 0
Minnesota 4 4 0 7 5 0
Purdue 3 5 0 5 6 0
Wisconsin 2 6 0 5 6 0
Indiana 1 7 0 4 7 0
Northwestern 1 7 0 3 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1985 Big Ten Conference football season. In their sixth year under head coach Mike White, the Fighting Illini compiled a 6–5–1 record (5–2–1 in conference games), finished in third place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 303 to 275. They concluded the season with a loss to Army in the 1985 Peach Bowl.

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Jack Trudeau (2,938 passing yards, 63.7% completion percentage), running back Thomas Rooks (718 rushing yards, 5.4 yards per carry), wide receiver David Williams (85 receptions for 1,047 yards), and kicker Chris White (73 points scored, 31 of 31 extra points, 14 of 20 field goals). Four Illinois players received first-team honors on the 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Williams at wide receiver (AP-1, UPI-1); Jim Juriga at guard (AP-1, UPI-1; Guy Teafatiller at defensive line (UPI-1); and White at kicker (UPI-1).

The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.