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Written By
Illinois and Indiana are not the first two names one thinks of when asked to name Big Ten powers. However, their fortunes have changed and they will play in one of the most important Big Ten games of the season on Saturday night. It would not be a stretch to say Saturday night's big game is the most impactful in the over 125 year and 73-meeting history of the series. The issue is not that both schools have never been good, it's that they have never been good at the same time or met late enough in the season most years for the game to have a national scope.
The only meeting where both schools were ranked in the AP Poll came in 1950. Indiana found itself ranked #19 in the AP Poll after wins over #17 Iowa and #11 Notre Dame in the first four games of the season. A loss to #12 Illinois started the Hoosiers' freefall to a 3-5-1 finish, going 1-4 to end the season. Illinois had better luck finishing 7-2, but the Indiana game had little national impact since the Fighting Illini finished fourth in the Big Ten.
Over the past 75 years, there have been meetings between the two with Rose Bowl implications, but they were part of greater tiebreaking scenarios, reducing their impact. In 1989 and 1990, Illinois and Indiana met in the penultimate week of the season with the Fighting Illini's Rose Bowl hopes still alive.
In 1989, the #12 Fighting Illini beat unranked Indiana to create a scenario where Illinois could have clinched a Rose Bowl bid with a win and an Ohio State win over Michigan in the final week of the season. This would have created a three-way tie where Illinois would take the Rose Bowl bid due to a head-to-head win over the Buckeyes and Michigan having a more recent Rose Bowl appearance than Illinois.
This never came to fruition however, and the Illinois-Indiana game was a footnote in a notable season for Illinois. The 1989 game is also notable because it was the last time an over-the-air (antenna) network broadcasted the game, when ABC aired the game regionally opposite USC-UCLA.
The following year, Illinois had their Rose Bowl hopes on the line against Indiana. This time beating the Hoosiers in their second-to-last game paved the way for an even more complex tiebreaking scenario for Illinois. The Fighting Illini needed a win, an Iowa loss, and a tie between Michigan and Ohio State to make the Rose Bowl. The more recent Rose Bowl appearance tiebreaker once again would have helped Illinois. Again, the dominos did not fall for Illinois and the Indiana game was yet another footnote.
Since then, Indiana and Illinois have met early in their most successful years before they caught the attention of the national media. This time, both teams are ranked in the AP Poll and building off successful seasons last year. Some may view this as a College Football Playoff elimination game, especially for Indiana, who had a weak non-conference schedule. Illinois and Indiana have hardly played a more important game against one another since the Truman Administration.
Illinois and Indiana are finally both nationally relevant at the same time for one of the first times ever. The resurgence of these two longtime also-rans in the Big Ten is one of the most intriguing stories in college football. Now, they converge for an impactful moment in time for both programs.
