2001 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

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.

2001 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Big Ten champion
Sugar Bowl, L 47–34 vs. LSU
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12[1]
APNo. 12[2]
Record10–2 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRon Turner (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorMike Cassity (1st season)
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
(Capacity: 70,904)
Seasons
← 2000
2002 →
2001 Big Ten Conference football standings
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

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 12:30 pmat California*FSNW 44–1738,160[3]
September 811:00 amNorthern Illinois*ESPN+W 17–1245,674[4]
September 2211:00 amNo. 25 Louisville*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, Illinois
ESPNW 34–1043,232[5]
September 292:30 pmat No. 17 MichiganNo. 22ABCL 20–45107,085[6]
October 611:00 amMinnesota
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, Illinois
ESPN+W 32–1453,225[7]
October 1312:00 pmat IndianaW 35–1431,116[8]
October 2011:00 amWisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, Illinois
ESPNW 42–3570,904[9]
November 311:00 amat No. 20 PurdueNo. 21ESPNW 38–1361,568[10]
November 102:30 pmPenn StateNo. 15
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, Illinois
ABCW 33–2870,904[11]
November 1711:00 amat No. 25 Ohio StateNo. 12ESPNW 34–22104,407[12]
November 2211:00 amNorthwesternNo. 10
ESPN2W 34–2845,755[13]
January 17:30 pmvs. No. 12 LSU*No. 7ABCL 34–4777,688[14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Roster

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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
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Roster

References

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  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.