Ahem. 71,000 (minus the poor souls who were sitting in the stands to support their top 10 ranked teams) may disagree with you. The stadium was rocking.
3 top 10 teams in Oct 1983. 56-19.
Probably the best season of Illinois football in my lifetime. Well, at least the best regular season; embarrassing ending. How did 1983 Illinois (10-2) -- the only football team in Big Ten history to beat every conference opponent in a single season -- end up getting absolutely demolished 45-9 by UCLA (7-4-1) in the Rose Bowl?
To this day, I still wonder what might have been if Don Rogers hadn't done something so incredibly stupid. Rogers was the UCLA safety who picked off 2 passes by Illini QB Jack Trudeau in that Rose Bowl. He was a 1st round pick in the 1984 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns and won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. By 1986, Rogers was one of the best safeties in the NFL. The Browns already had stars at both CB positions -- Hanford Dixon & Frank Minnifield; both would make their first Pro Bowl in 1986. So Cleveland appeared to be absolutely loaded in the defensive backfield for years to come. Unfortunately, being a Cleveland sports fan is far more cruel than being an Illinois football/basketball fan. On June 27, 1986, a mere eight days after Boston Celtics 1986 NBA Draft pick (#2 overall) Len Bias OD'd on cocaine, Rogers did the same. To make matters worse (if that is possible), Rogers was getting married the next day. So sad and completely avoidable, senseless and stupid. And talk about adversely impacting the fortunes of a football team. If Rogers hadn't made that awful mistake, perhaps The Drive never happens and the Browns beat Denver in the AFC Championship, thereby making it to the Super Bowl that season. Who knows, maybe the team doesn't even leave Cleveland (for Baltimore) following the 1995 season. Unfortunately, Cleveland Browns fans will never know what might have been.
Recentwtf is wrong with the rig... by ThePAMan
WTF happened to the WTF h...
by murphstahoe Recruiting by ILLINICHIEF
Total Members: 142