# 1946 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1946 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois in the 1946 Big Nine Conference football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Ray Eliot, the Illini compiled an 8–2 record (6–1 against Big Nine opponents) and won the Big Nine championship. They finished the season ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll and were invited to play in the 1947 Rose Bowl where they defeated No. 4 UCLA, 45–14. Center Mac Wenskunas was the team captain.
Guard Alex Agase was a consensus first-team selection on the 1946 All-America college football team. Agase also received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Nine's most valuable player. 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).
The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 21 | 1:00 p.m. | at Pittsburgh* | | Pitt StadiumPittsburgh, PA | W 33–7 | 35,000 |
| September 28 | | Notre Dame* | | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | L 6–26 | 75,119 |
| October 5 | | Purdue | | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (rivalry) | W 43–7 | 38,519 |
| October 12 | | at Indiana | No. 12 | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN (rivalry) | L 7–14 | 27,000 |
| October 19 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 20 Wisconsin | | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | W 27–21 | 62,597 |
| October 26 | | at No. 8 Michigan | | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | W 13–9 | 86,938 |
| November 2 | | at Iowa | No. 11 | Iowa StadiumIowa City, IA | W 7–0 | 52,000 |
| November 16 | | No. 13 Ohio State | No. 9 | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy) | W 16–7 | 61,519 |
| November 23 | | at Northwestern | No. 5 | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | W 20–0 | 47,000 |
| January 1 | | vs. No. 4 UCLA* | No. 5 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | W 45–14 | 93,083 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Pittsburgh

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

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 |
* 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)