1958 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1958 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1958 Big Ten season. In their 17th year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Fighting Illini compiled a 4–5 record (4–3 in conference game), finished in sixth place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 150 to 144.

1958 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	4–5 (4–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ray Eliot (17th season)
MVP	Gene Cherney
Captain	Jack Delveaux
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1957 1959 →

1958 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Iowa $	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	1
No. 7 Wisconsin	5	–	1	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
No. 8 Ohio State	4	–	1	–	2			6	–	1	–	2
No. 13 Purdue	3	–	1	–	2			6	–	1	–	2
Indiana	3	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Illinois	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Northwestern	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Michigan	1	–	5	–	1			2	–	6	–	1
Minnesota	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
Michigan State	0	–	5	–	1			3	–	5	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback John Easterbrook (656 passing yards, 51.5% completion percentage), Marshall Starks (303 rushing yards, 4.7 yards per carry), and Rich Kreitling (23 receptions for 688 yards, 29.9 yards per reception).^[1] Center Gene Cherney was selected as the team's most valuable player.^[2] Kreitling and guard Bill Burrell received first-team honors on the 1958 All-Big Ten Conference football team.^[3][4]

The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 27	UCLA*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 14–18	46,775
October 4	at Duke*	Duke Stadium Durham, NC	L 13–15	25,000	[5]
October 11	No. 5 Ohio State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck)	L 13–19	50,416
October 18	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 20–8	58,174
October 25	No. 20 Michigan State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 16–0	68,811
November 1	at No. 10 Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 8–31	46,357
November 8	at Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	W 21–8	58,788	[6]
November 15	No. 5 Wisconsin	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 12–31	45,937
November 22	No. 20 Northwestern	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 27–20	32,390
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game