The 1983 Illinois Fighting Illini football team 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 Universit ...

during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. 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 2,446 passing yards, running back Thomas Rooks with 842 rushing yards, and wide receiver David Williams with 870 receiving yards. Defensive end

Don Thorp Donald Kevin Thorp (born July 10, 1962 in Buffalo Grove, Illinois) is a former professional American football defensive lineman in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Kansas City Chiefs. He ...

was selected as the team's most valuable player and also received the

Chicago Tribune Silver Football The Chicago Tribune Silver Football is awarded by the ''Chicago Tribune'' to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Illinois wa ...

trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference. The 1983 Illini were the first team in Big Ten history to go 9-0 in regular season conference play, and the only team to do so until

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

went 9-0 in 2017.

Schedule

*Schedule Source:

Awards and honors

(

Defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

) **

** All-American, (''defensive end'') *

Jim Juriga James Allen Juriga (born September 12, 1964) is a former guard who played three seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He started in Super Bowl XXIV for the Denver Broncos. After he finished his football career, he obtained his docto ...

, ( Tackle) ** All-American, (''tackle'') *

Craig Swoope Craig Avery Swoope, Sr. (born February 3, 1964), is a former professional American football player who played collegiately for the University of Illinois, and in 3 NFL seasons from 1986 to 1988 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colt ...

, (

Defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

) ** All-American, (''defensive back'')

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 Big Ten Conference football champion 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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