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1946 Illinois Fighting Illini football
File:1946 Illinois Fighting Illini football team.jpg
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 45–14 vs. UCLA
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
AP #5
1946 record 8–2 (6–1 Big Ten)
Head coach Ray Eliot (5th year)
MVP Alex Agase
Captain Mac Wenskunas
Home stadium Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 71,119)
Seasons
« 1945 1947 »
1946 Big Ten football standings
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#5 Illinois 6 1 0     8 2 0
#6 Michigan 5 1 1     6 2 1
#20 Indiana 4 2 0     6 3 0
Iowa 3 3 0     5 4 0
Minnesota 3 4 0     5 4 0
Ohio State 2 3 1     4 3 2
Northwestern 2 3 1     4 4 1
Wisconsin 2 5 0     4 5 0
Purdue 0 5 1     2 6 1
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1946 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois in the 1946 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Ray Eliot and playing their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, the Illini won the Big Ten Conference title and completed an 8–2 season with a 45–14 win over UCLA in the Rose Bowl. The team's captain was center Mac Wenskunas. Guard Alex Agase was voted the team's most valuable player and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's most valuable player.[1]

Awards and honors[]

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 21at Pittsburgh*W 33–735,000
September 28Notre Dame*L 6–2675,119
October 5Purdue
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, Illinois
W 43–738,512
October 12at IndianaNo. 12L 7–1427,000
October 19No. 20 Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, Illinois
W 27–2162,597
October 26at No. 8 MichiganW 13–986,938
November 2at IowaNo. 11
W 7–052,000
November 16No. 13 Ohio StateNo. 9
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, Illinois
W 16–761,519
November 23at NorthwesternNo. 5W 20–047,000
January 1vs. No. 4 UCLA*No. 5W 45–1493,083
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster[]

Player Position
Alex Agase Offensive guard
Perry Moss Quarterback
Ruck Steger
Les Bingaman Guard, Tackle
Sam Zatkoff End
Joe Buscemi
Bob Cunz Tackle
Don Maechtle Placekicker
Don Pittman
Chuck Gottfried
Al Martignago
Lyle Button Tackle
Lou Levanti Center
Bob Prymuski Guard
Tom Gallagher
Al Mastrangeli Center
Merle Schlosser End
Bernie Krueger Quarterback
Dike Eddleman Punter
Bill Franks
Chick Maggioli Defensive back, Halfback
Paul Patterson Quarterback
Ike Owens End, Defensive end
Art Dufelmeier (Captain) Halfback
Tom Stewart
Bob Hinkle
Lou Agase Tight end, Tackle
Jim Valck
Jack Pierce
Burt Schmidt
Denny Bassett
Walt Kersulis End
John Wrenn Guard
Herb Siegert Guard, Linebacker

References[]

Template:Big Ten Conference football champions

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