Illinois Football National Champions

1914

Possibly the most dominant team in Illinois football history was the 1914 squad. The squad was only coach Robert Zuppke's second at Illinois and would be the first of four na­tional championship teams he would lead in his 29 years at Illinois. The Fighting Illini defense shut out four of its seven opponents, yielding only 22 points the entire 1914 season, and the averaged up an incredible 32 points per game, including a 51-0 shellacking of Indiana on Oct. 10. This team was so good that no one scored a point against them until Oct. 31, the fifth game of the seven-game season. The closest game of the year, two weeks later, wasn't very close at all, a 21-7 home decision over Chicago. Leading the way for Zuppke's troops was right halfback Bart Macomber. He led the team in scoring. Left guard Ralph Chapman was named to Walter Camp's first-team All-America squad, while left halfback Harold Pogue, the team's second-leading scorer, was named to Camp's second team.  

1919

The 1919 team was the only one of Zuppke's national cham­pi­on­ship squads to lose a game. Wisconsin managed to de­feat the Fighting Illini in Urbana in the third game of the season, 14-10, to tem­porarily knock Illinois out of the conference lead. However, ­Zuppke's men came back from the Wisconsin defeat with three consecutive wins to set up a showdown with the Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 22 to determine the conference champion. Illinois scored first on a first-quarter touchdown and never looked back. The Fighting Illini added a field goal before allowing a Buckeye touchdown and conversion. With the final score, 9-7, in Illinois' favor, the Illini won the conference title and were later named national champions. Right guard Clarence Applegran was named to Eckersall's second-team All-America squad, and left tackle Burt Ingwersen and center John Depler were both members of Walter Camp's second-team All-America squad.  

1923

The 1923 season became a particularly special year in Illinois football history. Not only did Illinois and Zuppke win their third national championship in 10 years, but Memorial Stadium was finally com­pleted. It was unveiled for all to see at the homecoming contest, a victory vs. Chicago on Nov. 3. The 1923 season also meant the arrival of legendary halfback Red Grange, who became possibly the most storied college football player ever. Grange was named a Walter Camp All-American after scoring 72 points that season. After the win over Chicago, the Fighting Illini finished their undefeated season by shutting out their final three opponents en route to a tie for the conference crown with Michigan, which Illinois didn't play. The defense was spectacular, as Illinois held its last five opponents scoreless and outscored its foes, 82-0, to finish the season. In addition to Grange, left guard James McMillen joined the Galloping Ghost on several award teams, including Eckersall's first-team All-America squad.  

1927

In 1927, Zuppke produced his fourth undefeated team, going 7-0-1. The 1927 Illinois club was literally unbeatable, yielding only 24 points the entire season, 12 of them coming in a tie with Iowa State. Besides the Cyclones, only Northwestern and Chicago were able to score a single point against this ferocious Illini team. Illinois' closest com­petition for the conference title was Minnesota, who finished 3-0-1 in conference play, but by virtue of not playing Illinois and its tie with Indiana, finished second behind 5-0 ­Illinois. Among those awarded postseason honors were guard Russell Crane and center Robert Reitsch, both of whom were members of Grantland Rice's All-America team.  

1951

The 1951 squad posted a near-perfect 9-0-1 record on the season, grabbing a share of the national title. The team started off the season with seven straight wins, beating 20th-ranked Washington and No. 15 Michigan along the way. The Illini suffered its only non-win of the year against Ohio State when neither team managed to score in a 0-0 tie. Illinois capped the season with a 40-7 romping of Stanford in the 1952 Rose Bowl. Consensus All-American Johnny Karras led the team in rushing and Hall of Famer Al Brosky was a star in the defensive secondary.