1927 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1927 Illinois Fighting Illini football
National champion (Billingsley, Dickinson, Helms, NCF, Davis) Big Ten co-champion
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1927 record	7–0–1 (5–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Robert Zuppke
Offensive scheme	Single-wing
Captain	Robert Reitsch
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Uniform
File:20silliniuniform.png
Seasons

1927 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#1 Illinois §	5	–	0	–	0			7	–	0	–	1
#3 Minnesota §	3	–	0	–	1			6	–	0	–	2
#7 Michigan	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	2	–	0
Chicago	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	4	–	0
Purdue	2	–	2	–	0			6	–	2	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	4	–	0
Ohio State	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	4	–	0
Indiana	1	–	2	–	1			3	–	4	–	1
Iowa	1	–	4	–	0			4	–	4	–	0
Wisconsin	1	–	4	–	0			4	–	4	–	0
§ – Conference co-champions Rankings from Dickinson System

The 1927 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois in the 1927 Big Ten Conference football season. The Fighting Illini compiled a 7–0–1 record (5–0 against Western Conference opponents) and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 152 to 24. The team was selected as the 1927 national champion by the Billingsley Report, Dickinson System, Helms Athletic Foundation, National Championship Foundation, and Parke H. Davis.

Though the team had no consensus All-Americans and was known for its lack of prominent names, center Robert Reitsch and guard Russ Crane made a handful of first-team selections. Reitsch was also the team captain.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
October 1	Bradley*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 19–0
October 8	Butler*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 58–0
October 15	Iowa State*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	T 12–12
October 22	at Northwestern	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	W 7–6
October 29	Michigan	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 14–0
November 5	at Iowa	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA	W 14–0
November 12	Chicago	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 15–6
November 19	at Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	W 13–0
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Roster

Player	Position
Russ Crane	Guard
Robert Reitsch (captain)	Center
Butch Nowack	Tackle, Kicker
Judson Timm	Halfback
Fritz Humbert	Fullback
Blair French	Quarterback
Dwight Stuessy	Quarterback
Doug Mills	Fullback, Punter
Frank Walker	Fullback
Tom Nickol	Fullback
Art D'Ambrosio	Halfback, Fullback
Arnold Wolgast	Tackle
James R. Stewart	End
Walter Jolley	End
Ernest W. Schultz	Tackle
Keston J. Deimling	Guard
Lawrence Perkins	Guard
Leonard Grable	Tackle
Garland Grange	Halfback, End
William E. Short	End
Louis Gordon	Guard
Louis Muegge	Guard
Evert Nelson	Guard
L. J. Weitz	Tackle
Lloyd. S. Burdick	Tackle
Norman McClure	Guard
Merwin Mitterwallner	Guard
Lester Marriner	Guard

• Head Coach: Robert Zuppke (15th year at Illinois)

References

Template:1927 Illinois Fighting Illini football navbox

Template:Big Ten Conference football champions