November 1st, 2008. 63,000 fans packed into Memorial Stadium to watch the Illinois Fighting Illini host the Iowa Hawkeyes. Juice Williams threw for 272 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown pass to Fred Sykes. Dere Hicks had a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and kicker Matt Eller added a pair of field goals to lead Illinois to a 27-24 win.
Why am I bringing up a game from 11 years ago? That was the last time the Illini hung a loss on the Hawkeyes. Iowa and Illinois wouldn’t play again until 2014, and with the exception of a 29-20 loss in 2015, the games haven’t been particularly close.