1961 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1961 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1961 record	0–9 (0–7 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pete Elliott (2nd season)
MVP	Tony Parrilli
Captain	Gary Brown
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons

1961 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#2/2 Ohio State †	6	–	0	–	0			8	–	0	–	1
#6/6 Minnesota	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
#8/9 Michigan State	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
#12/11 Purdue	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
#NR/18 Wisconsin	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Michigan	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Iowa	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Indiana	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Illinois	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	9	–	0
† – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

The 1961 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1961 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach Pete Elliott, the Illini compiled a 0–9 record and finished in last place in the Big Ten Conference. Guard Tony Parrilli was selected as the team's most valuable player.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 30	Washington*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 7–20
October 7	Northwestern	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)	L 7–28
October 14	at No. 7 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	L 0–44
October 21	Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 0–33
October 28	at USC*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 10–14
November 4	Purdue	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Purdue Cannon)	L 9–23
November 11	Michigan	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 6–38
November 18	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 7–55
November 25	at No. 8 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 7–34
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game