# 2014 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 2014 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Tim Beckman, and played their home games at Memorial Stadium. They were members of the new West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 6–7, 3–5 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the West Division. They were invited to the Heart of Dallas Bowl where they lost to Louisiana Tech.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 11:00 am | No. 24 (FCS) Youngstown State* | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | BTN | W 28–17 | 36,234 |
| September 6 | 11:00 am | Western Kentucky* | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | BTN | W 42–34 | 38,561 |
| September 13 | 3:00 pm | at Washington* | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | FOX | L 19–44 | 62,325 |
| September 20 | 3:00 pm | Texas State* | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | ESPNews | W 42–35 | 41,019 |
| September 27 | 8:00 pm | at No. 21 Nebraska | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | BTN | L 14–45 | 91,255 |
| October 4 | 11:00 am | Purdue | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (rivalry) | ESPN2 | L 27–38 | 45,046 |
| October 11 | 11:00 am | at Wisconsin | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ESPN2 | L 28–38 | 80,341 |
| October 25 | 11:00 am | Minnesota | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | ESPNU | W 28–24 | 44,437 |
| November 1 | 7:00 pm | at No. 13 Ohio State | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy) | ABC | L 14–55 | 106,961 |
| November 15 | 11:00 am | Iowa | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | BTN | L 14–30 | 50,373 |
| November 22 | 11:00 am | Penn State | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | ESPN2 | W 16–14 | 35,172 |
| November 29 | 11:00 am | at Northwestern | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL (rivalry) | ESPNU | W 47–33 | 31,137 |
| December 26 | 12:00 pm | vs. Louisiana Tech* | Cotton BowlDallas, TX (Heart of Dallas Bowl) | ESPN | L 18–35 | 31,297 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Consecutive season at Illinois | Alma Mater |
| Tim Beckman | Head coach | 2 | Findlay (1988) |
| Bill Cubit | Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks | 1 | Delaware (1974) |
| Mike Bellamy | Wide receivers | 2 | Illinois (1990) |
| Tom Brattan | Offensive Line | 0 | Delaware (1972) |
| Alex Golesh | Tight ends/Running backs/Fullbacks/recruiting coordinator | 2 | Ohio State (2006) |
| Tim Banks | Defensive coordinator/secondary | 2 | Central Michigan (1995) |
| Greg Colby | Defensive line | 1 | Illinois (1974) |
| Al Seamonson | Outside Linebackers | 1 | Wisconsin (1982) |
| Mike Ward | Inside Linebackers | 2 | Georgetown College (1984) |
| Tim Salem | Special Teams Coordinator | 2 | Arizona State (1985) |
| Reference: ||||

### Roster
## Game summaries
### Youngstown State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Youngstown State | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 17 |
| Illinois | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 28 |
at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL
* Date: August 30, 2014
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
* Game weather: Temperature: • Wind: • Weather:
* Game attendance:
* Referee: Referee: • Umpire: • Linesman: • Line judge: • Back judge: • Field judge: • Side judge:
* TV announcers (BTN): Chris Denari (Play-by-play) & Danan Hughes (Color)
Game information :
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
YSU –
ILL –
Top Rushers
YSU –
ILL –
Top Receiving
YSU –
ILL –
Top Tackler
YSU –
ILL – :

### Western Kentucky

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Western Kentucky | 3 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 34 |
| Illinois | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 42 |
at Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL
* Date: September 6, 2014
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
* Game weather: Temperature: • Wind: • Weather:
* Game attendance:
* Referee: Referee: • Umpire: • Linesman: • Line judge: • Back judge: • Field judge: • Side judge:
* TV announcers (BTN): Chris Denari (Play-by-play), J Leman (Color) & Rebecca Haarlow (Sideline)
Game information :
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
WKU –
ILL –
Top Rushers
WKU –
ILL –
Top Receiving
WKU –
ILL –
Top Tackler
WKU –
ILL – :

### Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 3 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 19 |
| Huskies | 21 | 17 | 0 | 6 | 44 |

### Texas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Fighting Illini | 6 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 42 |

### Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Cornhuskers | 7 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 45 |

### Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Boilermakers | 7 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
| Fighting Illini | 14 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 27 |

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| Badgers | 7 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 38 |

### Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 24 |
| Fighting Illini | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### Ohio State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Buckeyes | 17 | 14 | 17 | 7 | 55 |

### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawkeyes | 2 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 30 |
| Fighting Illini | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

### Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Nittany Lions | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Fighting Illini | 0 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 16 |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Illinois | 13 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 47 |
| Northwestern | 0 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 33 |
Reilly O'Toole passed for 147 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 147 yards.

### Louisiana Tech–Heart of Dallas Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 18 |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |