1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–6 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bob Blackman (3rd season)
MVP	Eddie Jenkins, Octavus Morgan
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1973 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Ohio State +	7	–	0	–	1			10	–	0	–	1
No. 6 Michigan +	7	–	0	–	1			10	–	0	–	1
Minnesota	6	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Illinois	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Michigan State	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Purdue	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Northwestern	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Indiana	0	–	8	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Iowa	0	–	8	–	0			0	–	11	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois in the 1973 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third year under head coach Bob Blackman, the Illini compiled a 5–6 record and finished in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten Conference.

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Jeff Hollenbach with 916 passing yards, running back George Uremovich with 519 rushing yards, and wide receiver Garvin Roberson with 416 receiving yards. Halfback Eddie Jenkins and defensive end Octavus Morgan were selected as the team's most valuable players.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 15	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	W 28–14
September 22	at California*	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 27–7
September 29	West Virginia*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 10–17
October 6	Stanford*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 0–24
October 13	Purdue	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Purdue Cannon)	W 15–13
October 20	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 6–3
October 27	Iowa	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 50–0
November 3	No. 1 Ohio State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)	L 0–30
November 10	at No. 4 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 6–21
November 17	Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 16–19
November 24	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)	L 6–9
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1973 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 19 Jeff Hollenbach Jr RB 23 Eddie Jenkins Sr QB 11 Tom McCartney Sr RB 33 Lonnie Perrin Jr WR Garvin Roberson RB George Uremovich	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 40 Octavius Morgan Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P Phil Vierneisel	Head coach Bob Blackman Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster