Thomas Rooks ran for 99 yards to become the third Illinois player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and David Williams caught 11 passes for 142 yards in the Illini's homecoming victory. Rooks, who needed 86 yards going into the game to join Jim Grabowski and J.C. Caroline at the 1,000-yard mark, scored from 28 yards out to give the Illini (6-4, 5-3 in the Big Ten) a 27-0 lead late in the first half. Williams has 1,225 receiving yards on the season. Illinois became the first team in Big Ten history to have a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver in one season.

The 1984 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1984 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fifth year under head coach Mike White, the Illini compiled a 7–3 record (6–3 in conference games), tied for second place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 323 to 209.

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Jack Trudeau (2,724 passing yards, 65.3% completion percentage), running back Thomas Rooks (1,056 rushing yards, 4.8 yards per carry), wide receiver David Williams (101 receptions for 1,278 yards), and kicker Chris White (103 points scored, 31 of 32 extra points, 24 of 28 field goals). Six Illinois players received first-team honors on the 1984 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Rooks at running back (UPI-1); Chris Babyar at guard (AP-1, UPI-1); Jim Juriga at tackle; tight end Cap Boso (AP-1); Williams at wide receiver (AP-1, UPI-1); White at kicker (AP-1, UPI-1).

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