1968 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1968 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	1–9 (1–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jim Valek (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Ellis Rainsberger (2nd season)
MVP	Rich Johnson
Captain	Carson Brooks, Tony Pleviak
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1968 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Ohio State $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	0	–	0
No. 12 Michigan	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
No. 10 Purdue	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Minnesota	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Indiana	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Iowa	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Michigan State	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Illinois	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
Wisconsin	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1968 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1968 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach Jim Valek, the Illini compiled a 1–9 record and finished in a tie for eighth place in the Big Ten Conference.

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Bob Naponic with 813 passing yards, running back Rich Johnson with 973 rushing yards, and wide receiver Doug Dieken with 223 receiving yards. Fullback Rich Johnson was selected as the team's most valuable player.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 21	Kansas*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 7–47	46,359
September 28	Missouri*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	L 0–44	48,127
October 5	at Indiana	Seventeenth Street Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 14–28	50,241–50,996
October 12	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 10–17	49,864
October 19	at No. 6 Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	L 8–58	59,075
October 26	No. 2 Ohio State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)	L 24–31	56,174
November 2	at No. 6 Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 17–35	62,321
November 9	at No. 7 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	L 0–36	56,775
November 16	Northwestern	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 14–0	42,099
November 23	Iowa	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 13–37	35,055
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1968 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class E 82 Doug Dieken So QB 12 Bob Naponic Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Jim Valek Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster