The Illinois–Michigan football series is an American college football series between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Michigan Wolverines. The series dates back to 1898 and features two long-time Big Ten members, with Illinois claiming five national championships, 15 Big Ten Conference titles, and 24 consensus All-Americans, and Michigan claiming 12 national championships, 45 Big Ten titles, and 85 consensus All-Americans. Michigan leads the series 72–24–2.
For Illinois, Michigan is its third-most played opponent, trailing only Northwestern (108 games) and Ohio State (101 games). For Michigan, Illinois is its fourth-most played opponent, behind Ohio State (111 games), Michigan State (107 games) and Minnesota (101 games).
Series highlights
The series has included many notable games, including the following:
- 1898: Michigan won the first game 12–5 on a field described as "a veritable sea of mud."
- 1924–1925: The teams met in 1924 with neither having lost a game since 1922. Red Grange returned the opening kick-off 95 yards for a touchdown and scored four touchdowns in the first quarter. When Grange played Michigan again in 1925, the Wolverines stopped Grange and shut out the Illini.
- 1927: Illinois defeated Michigan 14–0 en route to its fourth national championship under coach Robert Zuppke.
- 1928: In a game rated as "the greatest upset in years in the Big Ten", a winless Michigan team beat undefeated Illinois 3–0, denying coach Zuppke his fifth national championship.
- 1932–1933: Harry Kipke's Michigan teams defeated Illinois 32–0 and 7–6 on their way to consecutive national championships.
- 1939: In a major upset, a winless Illinois squad beat undefeated #2 Michigan 16–7.
- 1944: With both teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll, Crisler's Wolverines won 28–14.
- 1946: Illinois upset #8 Michigan 13–9, and Illinois and Michigan were ranked #5 and #6 respectively in the final AP poll. The loss to Illinois in 1946 was Michigan's last until 1949, as the Wolverines put together a 25-game winning streak and consecutive undefeated seasons in 1947 and 1948.
- 1955: In perhaps the greatest upset in series history, unranked Illinois defeated a Michigan team that was ranked #1 in the UPI coaches poll 25–6.
- 1963: Illinois, led by Dick Butkus, came in undefeated and ranked #2. Michigan came in 2–3–1 and upset Illinois 14–8.
- 1983: Ending a 16-game losing streak against Michigan, quarterback Jack Trudeau led #8 Illinois past #9 Michigan 16–6.
- 1999: An unranked Illinois team led by quarterback Kurt Kittner upset #9 Michigan 35–29 despite 307 passing yards for Michigan quarterback Tom Brady.
- 2010: Michigan won 67–65 in three overtimes. The combined total of 132 points broke the Big Ten single-game scoring record. Led by Denard Robinson, Michigan also set a school record with 416 passing yards.
- 2022: Trailing 17–10 entering the fourth quarter, Michigan's all-time scoring leader, kicker Jake Moody, kicked three of his four field goals in the fourth quarter, including his first-ever game winner, with nine seconds remaining, to send the Wolverines to a 19–17 victory.
Game results
Rankings are from the AP Poll.
Early games (1898–1906)
1898: First meeting
1898: Illinois vs. Michigan
- Date: November 12, 1898
- Location: Detroit Athletic Club Grounds, Detroit, Michigan
- Game start: 3:00 p.m.
- Game attendance: 3,500
Illinois and Michigan met for the first time on November 12, 1898. Michigan won, 12–5, in a game that was played before a crowd of 3,500 spectators at the Detroit Athletic Club grounds. Heavy rains earlier in the day had turned the field into "a veritable sea of mud." After five minutes of play, "the men were plastered with mud," and the wet field contributed to poor footing and difficulties handling the ball. The Wolverines won despite what one writer described as "ragged play" that included a number of penalties for offsides and "keeping of hands." Clifford Barabee scored Michigan's first touchdown as he was shoved across the goal line by his teammates. Illinois' only score came in the first half after Michigan's fullback, Alanson Weeks, fumbled, and an Illinois player picked it up and ran 50 yards for a touchdown.
1906: Michigan's final conference game for 12 years
On October 27, 1906, Fielding H. Yost's Michigan Wolverines defeated Illinois, 28–9, before a crowd estimated at close to 5,000 persons at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor. The 1906 game was played on a soggy field resulting from "a constant rain of fourteen hours." The rain continued throughout the game, resulting in a slippery ball and numerous fumbles. Illinois turned the ball over four times on fumbles, and Michigan did so three times. On the first play of the game, John Garrels ran 90 yards for a touchdown. Pinckney ran for the Illinois touchdown — the first allowed by Michigan since 1904. Joe Curtis scored 18 points on three touchdowns and three extra points.
The Illinois game was Michigan's only contest in 1906 with a member of the Big Nine Conference. Michigan was engaged in a dispute with other conference schools and left the conference, resulting in a hiatus that lasted for the next 13 years.
Series resumed (1919–24)
1919–1920: Illinois records its first wins
Michigan returned to the Big Ten Conference in 1918. By that time, Robert Zuppke had taken over as head coach at Illinois and turned the team into a national power. On November 15, 1919, in the first meeting between coaches Zuppke and Yost, the Illini won, 29–7, the first victory by an Illinois team against Michigan. The game attracted 14,000 spectators, the second largest crowd in Illinois Field history to that point.
The Illini won again in 1920, 7–6. Quarterback John Dunn of Michigan scored on a 75-yard interception return but then missed the extra point. Illinois then took the lead on a pass from Walquist to Ralph Fletcher; Fletcher converted his point after touchdown to give Illinois its second straight victory over Michigan.
1921: Michigan's first victory over Illinois since 1906
On October 29, 1921, Michigan defeated Illinois, 3–0. A special train with 11 Pullmans left Ann Arbor on Friday evening with 600 students and the varsity band. Upon arriving in Champaign on Saturday morning, the Michigan contingent walked to the Inman Hotel where the Michigan team was quartered. Michigan students raided the hotel dining room and woke the guests with a variety of cheers and songs, including "Varsity" and "Samuel Hall".
The game was played on a field that was "soaked from torrents of rain that fell all of the night before," with players skidding around the field and vision "obscured by clotted mud." Michigan's scoring drive was led by the rushing of Franklin Cappon and Doug Roby and ended with a field goal kicked by Frank Steketee. Michigan's victory over Illinois in 1921 was the start of a 20-game undefeated streak by Michigan that lasted until October 18, 1924, when it lost to an Illinois squad led by Red Grange.
After the game, the Michigan varsity band put their caps on backwards and led the Michigan students in a snake-dance through the streets of Champaign. On arriving at the Inman Hotel, varsity cheerleader Al Cuthbert climbed atop the hotel's glass awning to lead the Michigan contingent in cheers, breaking the awning in the process.
1922: Undefeated Wolverines shut out the Illini
On October 28, 1922, Michigan defeated Illinois, 24–0. After being held scoreless in the first quarter, Michigan scored 24 points in the second and third quarters. One of the featured plays was Bernard Kirk's return of the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown. One sports writer opined that Kirk's 80-yard return "will take rank with the most brilliant football achievements of any of Michigan's illustrious sons of the gridiron."
The Grange years (1924–1925)
During the 1923 season, Illinois and Michigan did not meet. Both had undefeated seasons, with each team receiving national championship honors from some selectors. On October 18, 1924, both teams were again undefeated when they met in Champaign. Illinois won, 39–14. Red Grange gained national notoriety for his performance, returning the opening kick-off 95 yards for a touchdown, scoring five touchdowns in the first quarter (five in all), and accumulating 402 yards on offense. The New York Times reported: "Unbiased experts agree that his performance was among the greatest ever seen on an American gridiron."
1925: Michigan stops Grange
On October 24, 1925, Michigan defeated Illinois, 3–0, in Champaign. The victory came as Illinois celebrated homecoming in front of a record crowd of 67,000 at Memorial Stadium. Stopping Red Grange was considered to be the key to beating Illinois in 1925. During the pre-season practice sessions, Michigan's line coach Tad Wieman dressed a player in a sweater with Grange's number and sent his guards and tackles "after the mythical Grange with instructions to 'hit him hard.'" Before the game, Michigan coach Fielding H. Yost told reporters: "One of the greatest throngs in all football history is here. For weeks the game has been on every tongue. . . . Our players have been compared as to weight, speed, and ability. The stage is set."
The only points of the game were scored in the second quarter on Benny Friedman's field goal from the 25-yard line. The field goal was set up by Bennie Oosterbaan's interception and a long gain on a triple pass from Friedman to George Babcock who then handed the ball to Bruce Gregory. Earl Britton of Illinois attempted two field goals, but both missed the mark. The game was played on a rainsoaked field which was credited with handicapping Grange.
Michigan fullback Bo Molenda was also credited with stopping Grange. Grange played at quarterback for the first time in his career and was held to 56 net rushing yards on 25 carries. The Associated Press wrote of Molenda's efforts: "Molenda was the principal reason why the Illini's aerial attack was unsuccessful. Time after time he got in the way to make the pass incomplete or to gather it in his arms." Molenda intercepted a pass thrown by Grange on the opening drive of the game and made a second interception of a pass thrown by Earl Britton later in the first quarter. He had two more interceptions in the fourth quarter, both on passes thrown by Daugherty. Multiple sources indicate that Molenda intercepted a total of five passes in the game.
In an increasingly rare display of ironman football, the same 22 players who started the game for Michigan and Illinois also finished the game. The Associated Press noted: "The fact that the same men finished the game is causing wide comment, for such a happening has not occurred in Big Ten contests for a great many years. This seems to be the age of wholesale substitutions, and to have two elevens go through an important and hard contest without rushing in new men every few minutes is to upset modern football precedent."
Later Zuppke era (1926–1941)
1926: Conference champion Michigan shuts out Illinois
On October 23, 1926, Michigan defeated Illinois, 13–0. Benny Friedman kicked a field goal to give Michigan a 3–0 lead at halftime. After a scoreless third quarter, Michigan scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. Michigan's lone touchdown was scored by Bo Molenda, and Friedman later kicked his second field goal. In their 25th year under head coach Fielding Yost, Michigan tied with Northwestern for the Big Ten championship.
1927: National champion Illinois
On October 29, 1927, Michigan lost to Illinois, 14–0. Michigan played without its backfield star, Louis Gilbert, who was injured the prior week when he threw three touchdown passes against Ohio State. The first Illinois touchdown followed a fumble by Gilbert's replacement, William Puckelwartz, at Michigan's seven-yard line. Illinois' halfback Timm ran around the end for the touchdown. Illinois finished the season undefeated and has been recognized as a national champion.
1928: Michigan spoils Illinois' undefeated season
On November 3, 1928, Illinois came into the Michigan game undefeated and expecting to win a fifth national championship under head coach Robert Zuppke. The game was played at Champaign in front of a stadium-record crowd of 85,000. Under first-year head coach Tad Wieman, Michigan came into the game winless with an 0–4 record. In a result that was rated as "the greatest upset in years in the Big Ten", Michigan won, 3–0, with the only points being scored on a field goal by Joe Gembis. The game was the only loss for an Illinois team that outscored its opponents 145 to 16, including five shut outs, and finished the season with a 7–1 record.