1946 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1946 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Big Nine champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 45–14 vs. UCLA
Conference	Big Nine Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 5
Record	8–2 (6–1 Big Nine)
Head coach	Ray Eliot (5th season)
MVP	Alex Agase
Captain	Mac Wenskunas
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1945 1947 →

1946 Big Nine Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Illinois $	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
No. 6 Michigan	5	–	1	–	1			6	–	2	–	1
No. 20 Indiana	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Iowa	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Ohio State	2	–	3	–	1			4	–	3	–	2
Northwestern	2	–	3	–	1			4	–	4	–	1
Wisconsin	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Purdue	0	–	5	–	1			2	–	6	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1946 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois as a member of the Big Nine Conference during the 1946 Big Nine season. In their fifth year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Fighting Illini compiled an 8–2 record (6–1 in conference games), won the Big Nine championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 217 to 105. They were ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll and concluded the season with a 45–14 victory over No. 4 UCLA in the 1947 Rose Bowl.^[1][2]

Guard Alex Agase was a consensus first-team selection on the 1946 All-America college football team.^[3] Agase also received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Nine's most valuable player.^[4] Four Illinois players received honors from the Associated Press (AP) or United Press (UP) on the 1946 All-Big Nine Conference football team: Agase (AP-1, UP-1); ends Ike Owens (UP-1) and Sam Zatkoff (UP-2); and halfback Jules Rykovich (UP-2).^[5][6] Center Mac Wenskunas was the team captain.^[2]

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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 21	1:00 p.m.	at Pittsburgh*		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	W 33–7	35,000	[7]
September 28		Notre Dame*		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 6–26	75,119	[8]
October 5		Purdue		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 43–7	38,519	[9]
October 12		at Indiana	No. 12	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)	L 7–14	27,000	[10]
October 19	2:00 p.m.	No. 20 Wisconsin		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 27–21	62,597	[11]
October 26		at No. 8 Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	W 13–9	86,938	[12][13]
November 2		at Iowa	No. 11	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 7–0	52,000	[14]
November 16		No. 13 Ohio State	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck)	W 16–7	61,519	[15]
November 23		at Northwestern	No. 5	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 20–0	47,000	[16]
January 1		vs. No. 4 UCLA*	No. 5	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	W 45–14	93,083	[17]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh at Illinois

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	7	0	0	7
• Fighting Illini	7	0	13	13	33

• Date: September 21
• Location: Pitt Stadium
  Pittsburgh, PA
• Game start: 1:00 p.m.
• Referee: Russel H. Rupp (Lebanon Valley) ; John Vilson (Ohio State) (Umpire); Herbert F. Steger (Michigan (Linesman); Loyed Larson (Wisconsin (Field judge);
• Television network: WDWS

Previous scores

Year	Score
1943	ILL 33-25
1944	ILL 39-5
1945	ILL 23-3

Stats

	Illinois	Pittsburgh
Total number of first downs	10	9
First down rushing	7	3
First down forward pass	1	6
First down penalties	2	0
Net yard rushing	193	132
Net yard forward pass	33	73
Net yard offensive plays	226	205
Forward pass thrown	9	19
Forward pass completed	2	6
Forward pass Int'ecpted	2	4
Number of penalties	1	14
Yards of penalties	5	76
Number of punts	5	12
Number of fumble	5	12
Number of fumble lost	1	3

Rankings

See also: 1946 college football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	12	—	—	11	10	9	5	5	5

Roster

Player	Position
Alex Agase	Offensive guard
Perry Moss	Quarterback
Ruck Steger
Les Bingaman	Guard, Tackle
Sam Zatkoff	End
Joe Buscemi
Bob Cunz	Tackle
Don Maechtle	Placekicker
Don Pittman
Chuck Gottfried
Al Martignago
Lyle Button	Tackle
Lou Levanti	Center
Bob Prymuski	Guard
Tom Gallagher
Al Mastrangeli	Center
Merle Schlosser	End
Bernie Krueger	Quarterback
Dike Eddleman	Punter
Bill Franks	Tackle
Chick Maggioli	Defensive back, Halfback
Paul Patterson	Quarterback
Ike Owens	End, Defensive end
Art Dufelmeier (Captain)	Halfback
Tom Stewart
Bob Hinkle
Lou Agase	Tight end, Tackle
Jim Valck
Jack Pierce
Burt Schmidt
Denny Bassett
Walt Kersulis	End
John Wrenn	Guard
Herb Siegert	Guard, Linebacker
Bill Heiss	End

^{[citation needed]}

• Head coach: Ray Eliot (5th year at Illinois)
• Line coach: Burt Ingwersen

Awards and honors

• Alex Agase
  • Chicago Tribune Silver Football
  • Consensus All-American (guard)

References

1. "1946 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
2. "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
3. "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
4. "Alex Agase Is Most Valuable". Journal and Courier. December 16, 1946. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Indiana Places Three on Big Ten All-Stars". The Milwaukee Journal (AP story). November 26, 1946. p. 6. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
6. "Michigan Gets Three Places On UP Team". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (UP story). November 30, 1946. p. 13.
7. Jack Henry (September 22, 1946). "Pitt Overpowered Illinois, 33-7: Victors Held To 7-7 Score In First Half; Gave 'Em a Scare!". Pittsburgh Sunday Sun-Telegraph. p. II-7 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Bert Bertine (September 29, 1946). "Notre Dame Halts Young, Overpowers Illinois, 26-6: Record 75,119 Watches Irish Dominate Battle". Decatur Sunday Herald and Review. pp. 29, 30 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Bert Bertine (October 6, 1946). "Illini Rout Purdue, 43-7: Illinois Backs Run Freely in Big Nine Debut". Decatur Sunday Herald and Review. p. II-1. Retrieved April 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Jack K. Overmyer (October 13, 1946). "Indiana Triumphs: 4th-Quarter Tally By Pihos Decides Game; Capacity Throng Of 27,000 Sees Illini Bow, 14-7". The Indianapolis Star. pp. 41, 43 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Irving Vaughan (October 20, 1946). "Illini Beat Wisconsin, 27-21: 2 Touchdowns in 4th Period Whip Badgers; Wham! 21 Points in First 4 Minutes". Chicago Tribune. pp. II-1, II-2 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Edward Burns (October 27, 1946). "Zatkoff Races 53 Yards As Illinois Beats Michigan, 13-9". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
13. Lyall Smith (October 27, 1946). "Illini Upset Wolverines on Zatkoff's Long Run, 13-9: Sam Travels 47 Yards on Interception; 12 Fumbles Costly to Michigan Drives". Detroit Free Press. pp. IV-2, IV-3 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Bert McGrane (November 3, 1946). "Illini Sink Iowa, 7-0, Lead Big 9: 5 Hawk Bids Fail; Steger's Stab on Illinois' Big Push Drops Iowans From Race". The Des Moines Sunday Register. pp. V-1, V-2 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Edward Burns (November 17, 1946). "Illinois Defeats Ohio, 16-7; Keeps Lead; Rykovich Goes 98 Yards Over Muddy Field; It's Fifth Victory in Big Nine". Chicago Tribune. pp. II-1, II-7 – via Newspapers.com.
16. Charles Bartlett (November 24, 1946). "Illinois Beats N.U., 20-0; Takes Big 9 Title; Sixth League Victory Opens Door To Bowl". Chicago Tribune. pp. II-1, II-6 – via Newspapers.com.
17. Paul Zimmerman (January 2, 1947). "Illinois Wallops Bruins by 45-14: Young, Rykovich Run Wild Behind Fast Illini Line as 93,083 Fans Gasp". Los Angeles Times. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.