1992 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1992 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Lou Tepper, the Illini compiled a 6–5–1 record, finished in fourth place in the Big Ten Conference, and lost to Hawaii in the 1992 Holiday Bowl.[1]

1992 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Holiday Bowl, L 17–27 Hawaii
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1992 record	6–5–1 (4–3–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Lou Tepper (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Tom Beck (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Denny Marcin (1st as DC, 5th overall season)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1992 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Michigan $	6	–	0	–	2			9	–	0	–	3
No. 18 Ohio State	5	–	2	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
Michigan State	5	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Illinois	4	–	3	–	1			6	–	5	–	1
Iowa	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
Indiana	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Minnesota	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Quarterback Jason Verduzco led the team with 1,779 passing yards, while Darren Boyer led with 593 rushing yards. John Wright led with 508 receiving yards.[2]

Several Illinois players received all-conference honors. Defensive lineman Simeon Rice was selected by the Associated Press (AP) as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Offensive tackle Brad Hopkins was selected by the AP as a first-team all-conference player, and linebacker Dana Howard and quarterback Verduzco were selected as a second-team player.[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 5	Northern Illinois*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 30–14
September 12	Missouri*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 24–17
September 19	at Houston*	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	L 13–31
October 3	at Minnesota	H.H.H. Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	L 17–18
October 10	at No. 21 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	W 18–16
October 17	Iowa	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 14–24
October 24	Northwestern	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)	L 26–27
October 31	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 13–12
November 7	Purdue	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Purdue Cannon)	W 20–17
November 14	at No. 3 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	T 22–22
November 21	Michigan State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 14–10
December 30	vs. Hawaii*	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	L 17–27
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1992 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 87 Ken Dilger So C 56 Greg Engel Jr T 79 Brad Hopkins Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 51 Kevin Hardy Fr LB 52 John Holecek So DE 97 Simeon Rice Fr CB 29 Scott Turner So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Lou Tepper Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "1992 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. "1992 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
3. "Michigan puts eight on All-Big Ten teams". The Argus-Press (AP story). November 25, 1992. p. A11.