The 1963 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1963 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fourth year under head coach Pete Elliott, the Illini compiled an 8–1–1 record, finished in first place in the Big Ten Conference, were ranked #3 in the final AP Poll, and defeated Washington in the 1964 Rose Bowl. The sole loss was a 14-8 defeat against Michigan.[1]
| 1963 Illinois Fighting Illini football | |
|---|---|
 | |
Big Ten champion Rose Bowl champion | |
Rose Bowl, W 17–7 vs. Washington | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 4 |
| AP | No. 3 |
| Record | 8–1–1 (5–1–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
|
| MVP | Dick Butkus |
| Captain | Mike Taliaferro, Dick Deller |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Illinois $ | 5 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Michigan State | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 2 | – | 3 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Illinois center/linebacker Dick Butkus was selected as the team's most valuable player, won the 1963 Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Big Ten's most valuable player, and was honored as a unanimous first-team player on the 1963 College Football All-America Team.[2][3] Tackle Archie Sutton was selected by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as a second-team All-American.[4]
Quarterback Mike Taliaferro led the team with 450 passing yards while Jim Grabowski led the team with 616 rushing yards. Gregg Schumacher led the team with 133 receiving yards.[5]
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 28 | California* | W 10–0 | 42,357 | |||
| October 5 | No. 4 Northwestern |
| W 10–9 | 51,286 | ||
| October 12 | at No. 8 Ohio State | T 20–20 | 84,712 | |||
| October 19 | Minnesota | No. 7 |
| W 16–6 | 61,229 | |
| October 25 | at UCLA* | No. 4 | W 18–12 | 24,616 | ||
| November 2 | Purdue | No. 2 |
| W 41–21 | 61,796 | |
| November 9 | Michigan | No. 2 |
| L 8–14 | 55,810 | [6][7] |
| November 16 | at Wisconsin | No. 8 | W 17–7 | 65,418 | ||
| November 28 | at No. 4 Michigan State | No. 8 | W 13–0 | 74,342 | ||
| January 1 | vs. Washington* | No. 3 | W 17–7 | 96,957 | ||
| ||||||
Players
edit- Dick Butkus - center/linebacker
- Jim Grabowski - running back
- Sammy Price - running back
- Gregg Schumacher - end
- Archie Sutton - tackle
- Mike Taliaferro - quarterback
- Wylie Fox - lineman
- Rich Callaghan - end (offense & defense)
Awards and honors
editRoster
edit- Head coach: Pete Elliott (3rd year at Illinois)
References
edit- ^ a b "1963 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ^ "Staubach Leads Youthful NEA All-Americans". Evening Independent, St. Petersburg, FL. December 2, 1963. p. 14A.
- ^ "1963 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ^ Lyall Smith (November 10, 1963). "Michigan KOs Illinois, 14 to 8". Detroit Free Press. p. 1D, 3D – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mike Block (November 10, 1963). "'M' Humbles Fumbling Illinois, 14-8". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 7 – via Bentley Historical Library.