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TBT: The underdog Illini stole the show 20 years ago

I remember it like it was yesterday. Well, sort of. This was the first NCAA Football game I watched as a kid. At 14, I didn’t have a huge interest in college football. I did have an interest in the Packers and Brett Favre, who had struck gold a couple years prior.

Coming in to the 1999 MicronPC.com Bowl, the Illini were a two-point underdog against the Virginia Cavaliers and the total spread sat at 56.5.

The Illini would lay waste to both those figures by the end of the evening.

With both teams coming in to the match at 7-4, this was expected to be a tight game for two well-balanced teams.