1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

{{Infobox college sports team season

| year = 1944

| team = Illinois Fighting Illini

| sport = football

| image = 1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football team.jpg

| image_size = 285

| conference = Big Ten Conference

| short_conf = Big Ten

| APRank = 15

| record = 5–4–1

| conf_record = 3–3

| head_coach = Ray Eliot

| hc_year = 3rd

| mvp = Buddy Young

| captain = Game captains

| stadium = Memorial Stadium

}}

The 1944 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1944 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Illini compiled a 5–3–1 record, were ranked No. 15 in the final AP poll, and finished in sixth place in the Big Ten Conference. Illinois lost three games to teams ranked in the top 10 in the AP poll: No. 9 Notre Dame (13–7); No. 8 Michigan (14–0); and No. 2 Ohio State (26–12).

Schedule

{{CFB schedule

| rankyear = 1944

| poll = AP

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 16

| w/l = w

| nonconf = y

| opponent = Illinois State Normal

| site_stadium = Memorial Stadium

| site_cityst = Champaign, IL

| score = 79–0

| attend = 5,386

| source = {{cite news |last1=Bartlett |first1=Charles |title=Illinois Unveils Flock of Fleet Backs; Crushes Normal, 79 to 0 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune/127607802/ |access-date=July 4, 2023 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=September 17, 1944 |page=2:1 |via=Newspapers.com}}

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 23

| w/l = w

| opponent = Indiana

| site_stadium = Memorial Stadium

| site_cityst = Champaign, IL

| gamename = rivalry

| score = 26–18

| attend = 7,986

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 30

| w/l = t

| nonconf = y

| away = y

| opponent = Great Lakes Navy

| site_stadium = Ross Field

| site_cityst = Great Lakes, IL

| score = 26–26

| attend = 25,000

| source = {{cite news|title=Illinois Holds Bluejackets to 26 to 26 Tie|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=October 1, 1944|page=II-1, II-3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17859537/illinois_holds_bluejackets_to_26_to_26/|via=Newspapers.com}}

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 7

| w/l = l

| opponent = Purdue

| site_stadium = Memorial Stadium

| site_cityst = Champaign, IL

| gamename = rivalry

| score = 19–35

| attend = 15,210

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 14

| w/l = w

| rank = 14

| opponent = Iowa

| site_stadium = Memorial Stadium

| site_cityst = Champaign, IL

| score = 40–6

| attend = 11,498

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 21

| w/l = w

| nonconf = y

| away = y

| opponent = Pittsburgh

| site_stadium = Pitt Stadium

| site_cityst = Pittsburgh, PA

| score = 39–5

| attend = 15,000

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 28

| w/l = l

| nonconf = y

| rank = 14

| opponent = Notre Dame

| opprank = 1

| site_stadium = Memorial Stadium

| site_cityst = Champaign, IL

| score = 7–13

| attend = 65,114

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 11

| w/l = l

| away = y

| rank = 10

| opponent = Michigan

| opprank = 8

| site_stadium = Michigan Stadium

| site_cityst = Ann Arbor, MI

| gamename = rivalry

| score = 0–14

| attend = 43,922

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 18

| w/l = l

| neutral = y

| opponent = Ohio State

| opprank = 4

| site_stadium = Cleveland Stadium

| site_cityst = Cleveland, OH

| gamename = Illibuck

| score = 12–26

| attend = 83,627

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 25

| w/l = w

| away = y

| opponent = Northwestern

| site_stadium = Dyche Stadium

| site_cityst = Evanston, IL

| gamename = rivalry

| score = 25–6

| attend = 38,000

}}

{{cite web|title=1944 Illinois Schedule and Results|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=SR/College Football|access-date=December 16, 2015|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/illinois/1944-schedule.html}} Halfback Buddy Young was selected as the team's most valuable player.{{cite web|title=Fighting Illini Football Record Book|publisher=University of Illinois|year=2015|access-date=December 28, 2016|page=155|url=http://sidearm.sites.s3.amazonaws.com/fightingillini.com/documents/2015/8/3/3_History_7_30.pdf}}