American college football season
The1982 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was anAmerican football team that represented theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a member of theBig Ten Conference during the1982 Big Ten season . In their third year under head coachMike White , the Illini compiled a 7–4 record (6–3 in conference games), finished in fourth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 323 to 208. They concluded the season with a loss toAlabama in the1982 Liberty Bowl , which was Hall of FamerBear Bryant 's final game as Alabama's head coach.[ 1]
QuarterbackTony Eason led the Big Ten with 278 completions, 450 passes, 3,248 passing yards, and 17 touchdowns. Wide receiverMike Martin led the conference with 69 receptions and 941 receiving yards. Kicker Mike Bass was the Big Ten in scoring with 101 points and 23 field goals made. Running backDwight Beverly led the team with 390 rushing yards, an average of 5.3 yards per carry.[ 2] Eason was selected as the team's most valuable player.[ 3] Eason, Martin, and Bass won first-team honors on the1982 All-Big Ten Conference football team .[ 4] [ 5]
The team played its home games atMemorial Stadium inChampaign, Illinois .
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 4 Northwestern W 49–1367,036 [ 6] September 11 Michigan State Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL W 23–1666,152 [ 7] September 18 atSyracuse * W 47–1030,128 [ 8] September 25 No. 3Pittsburgh * No. 19 Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL L 3–2071,547 [ 9] October 2 at No. 19Minnesota W 42–2463,684 [ 10] October 9 Purdue No. 20 Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry ) W 38–3471,232 [ 11] October 16 Ohio State No. 15 Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck ) L 21–2673,488 [ 12] October 23 atWisconsin W 29–2878,406 [ 13] October 30 atIowa L 13–1459,922 [ 14] November 6 No. 15Michigan Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry ) L 10–1675,256 [ 15] [ 16] November 13 atIndiana W 48–738,471 [ 17] December 29 vs.Alabama * L 15–2154,123 [ 18] *Non-conference game Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game
1982 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Special teams Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt
^ "1982 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results" .SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. RetrievedJuly 25, 2025 .^ "1982 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats" .SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. RetrievedDecember 16, 2015 .^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF) . University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. RetrievedDecember 29, 2016 .^ Joe Mooshil (November 30, 1982)."Carter, Bostic, Lukens Top All-Big Ten Football Team" .The Blade, Toledo, Ohio (AP story) . p. 26. ^ Barry Minkoff (November 23, 1982)."Michigan dominates All-Big Ten squads" .The Bryan Times (UPI story) . p. 13. ^ "Illinois bombards Northwestern" .The Post-Crescent . September 5, 1982. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Illinois wins; official dies" .The Pantagraph . September 12, 1982. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "SU thumped, 47–10" .The Sunday Press . September 19, 1982. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Pitt intercepts Illini hopes, 20–3" .St. Louis Post-Dispatch . September 26, 1982. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Illini comeback clips Minnesota" .Wisconsin State Journal . October 3, 1982. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Eason's heroics stop Purdue as Illini pull out 38–34 win" .The Courier-Journal . October 10, 1982. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "OSU wins as Spangler finally hits" .The Akron Beacon Journal . October 17, 1982. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Bass boots Badgers" .The Reporter . October 24, 1982. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Iowa nips Illini 14–13" .Fort Myers News-Press . October 31, 1982. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ Joe Lapointe (November 7, 1982)."U-M survives by stopping last Illinois try" .Detroit Free Press . pp. 1D, 9D – viaNewspapers.com . ^ Ron Pollack (November 7, 1982)."Michigan downs Illinois, 16-10: Blue halts late Illini drive before record-setting crowd" .The Michigan Daily . pp. 1, 8 – viaBentley Historical Library . ^ "Illinois vents frustrations on stunned Hoosiers, 48–7" .Journal and Courier . November 14, 1982. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Bryant goes out a winner" .Chicago Tribune . December 30, 1982. RetrievedFebruary 19, 2021 – viaNewspapers.com .
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