The 1985 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

during the 1985 Big Ten Conference football season. In their sixth year under head coach Mike White, the Illini compiled a 6–5–1 record and finished in third place in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. Illinois was invited to the

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially re ...

, where the Illini lost to

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. The team's offensive leaders were quarterback

Jack Trudeau Jack Francis Trudeau (born September 9, 1962) is a former professional American football player and morning show co-host on Fox Sports Radio. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 1986 NFL Draft. A quarterback from ...

with 2,938 passing yards, running back Thomas Rooks with 718 rushing yards, and wide receiver David Williams with 1,047 receiving yards.

Schedule

Game summaries

No. 6 USC

In a game that some considered a possible Rose Bowl preview, the Illini were doomed by 6 turnovers and found themselves in a 14–0 very early in the game. Illinois pulled to within 20–10 on a Chris White field goal early in the fourth quarter, but USC used ball control to grind out the clock – including 22 minutes of possession in the second half – and gain a big road win in the season opener for both teams.

At No. 18 Nebraska

No. 5 Ohio State

At Michigan State

Wisconsin

No. 4 Michigan

On November 2, 1985, Illinois played Michigan to a 3–3 tie at Memorial Stadium. Each team kicked a field goal in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Michigan drove the length of the field, but fullback

Gerald White Gerald Eugene White (born December 9, 1964) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Michigan. Early years White began his football caree ...

fumbled at the Illinois 12-yard line, with the Illini recovering at the nine-yard line. Illinois then drove the length of the field and, with time running out, Chris White lined up for what would have been a game-winning 37-yard field goal. Dieter Heren tipped the ball, which hit the cross-bar and bounced back, and the game ended in a tie. After the game, head coach White said, "I don't remember feeling worse after a game. . . . I'm devastated."

At No. 6 Iowa

Vs. Army (Peach Bowl)

References

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Illinois Fighting Illini football seasons

Illinois Fighting Illini football The Illinois Fighting Illini football program represents the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) level. The Fighting Illini are a founding member of ...

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